Good To You
by Originalhybridlover
Summary: The witches find about Caroline and use her in their plot to control Klaus into helping them take the Quarter back from Marcel.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright so I feel I should warn you this story has a lot of Hayley and the Kayley baby plot line but it does have a Caroline twist to it but if you hate baby plot lines you probably don't want to read this. It will follow the show so you will see scenes from episodes. But more importantly this is a Klaroline story so they are endgame.**

 **If your a big Hayley fan and have a problem with her doing really** _ **really**_ **questionable moral things for the sake of her wolf pack then this story probably isn't for you. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

 **Anyway I hope you like it. BTW, I started writing this well over two years ago.**

Caroline resented how her life was going as of late, she was supposed to be in college with Bonnie and Elena, happily in a relationship with Tyler and being Stefan's sober sponsor, not being practically held hostage in New Orleans because some freaking witches got it in their heads that she was their best shot at controlling Klaus and let's not forget their other bargaining chip, the were-slut who was apparently pregnant with Klaus's unborn child. Klaus who hadn't even bothered to tell her he slept with Hayley before she for her lack in judgement slept with him herself, giving into her darkest desires.

Something she now regrets maybe if she hadn't gotten so involved with him, maybe if he wasn't in love with her the witches wouldn't have gotten it in their heads that she was the key to keeping him in line and getting what they want.

She would be staying with him in the French Quarter with his siblings and Hayley for her protection. She should be in college studying journalism or biology, rooming with Elena and Bonnie, going to see her mom on the weekends. Planning a future for herself that didn't involve him.

But instead she was being kept on a plantation in New Orleans for her safety. If she was told one more time what she could and could not do she couldn't be held liable for her actions. She was sick and tired of being told what to do.

She just wanted to return home to her small town with her friends and mother who she missed dearly. Of course the witches weren't hearing that, and Klaus wasn't willing to risk her life.

To say her life sucked right now was an understatement.

 **A/N: I know this is short but it's really just the introduction to the story. The next chapter is longer. Thanks for reading. Review if you feel like it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Since the first chapter was so short I figured I'd go ahead and post the next chapter. This one has Smut so if that's not your thing you might want to skip past it.**

Caroline signed in irritation throwing back a shot of tequila. Helping Klaus had left her feeling on edge. She didn't understand why she was the one he called for help, why her friendship mattered, there were other girls he could be obsessing over more pretty and more willingly, so why didn't he?

She only had a few drinks she knew she wasn't drunk but she was going to blame the liquor on what she decided to do next. She wanted to know why he pursued her, why couldn't he just be in infatuated with someone else and stop making her life so damn complicated than it already was.

When she arrived at the Mikaelson estate she didn't bother knocking instead strolling right in. "Klaus?" She called and walked into the parlor room.

Klaus turned from the fireplace to face her. "Caroline?" He said surprised. "I have to say I'm surprised to see you again so soon."

"I need to talk to you." Caroline said walking further into the room.

"What is it?" Klaus asked, stepping toward her. "Is something wrong? Is that why you're here?"

"No, this is about you and me." She said and at his smirk she rolled her eyes. "Don't get excited."

Klaus chuckled and gestured for her to go on.

"Why?" Caroline asked. "Why are you so persistent toward me? Why is my friendship so important?"

"Because I'm not the girl that gets sought out, okay?!" Caroline exclaimed. "So stop it!"

"Just because the men of this forsaken town can't see what's in front of them, doesn't mean I can't."

"Ugh!" Caroline groaned. "Well, then don't!"

"Why wouldn't I feel that way about you?" Klaus responded, ignoring her words. "You're brave, beautiful, strong, full of light, fiercely loyal-"

"Enough!" Caroline exclaimed. "I didn't come here for you to list all the things you like about me."

"Then why did you come here?" Klaus asked, stepping forward.

"To get you to stop, this thing you have with me, it's ruining my life." Caroline exclaimed.

"Now your just being melodramatic." Klaus responded.

"I am not ever since you got your infatuation, obsession whatever you want to call it with me, it's gone to hell!" Caroline defended. "Because of you Tyler's gone." She yelled.

"Well, maybe," he began stepping forward until he was towering over her. "He shouldn't have made threats to shove the cure down my throat."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have killed his mother." Caroline snapped back, not backing down.

"He shouldn't have turned my hybrids against me!" He yelled.

"You shouldn't have made hybrids to begin with!" She yelled back.

They both were panting angrily, Caroline couldn't believe what she was feeling, she was angry yes but she was also feeling lust as she stared back at him angrily, she knew it was wrong on so many levels but there was something about fighting with him that turned her on, challenging him was like dancing on the devil's edge teetering on falling.

It annoyed and turned Klaus on when she stood up to him, fearless of the consequences when it was so easy for him to end her if he wanted to, at the moment he was more turned on then he was annoyed and he wanted nothing more than to yank her to him and take her but he had a feeling if he did she would push him away.

Klaus was prepared to force the urge down that was until he saw her eyes drop to his mouth before jerking back up and suddenly he didn't care if he risked her shoving him away, if a kiss was all he got it would be enough. For now.

Caroline realized that she was in dangerous territory of doing something she would regret and she needed to leave before that happened she was just about to turn to leave when his hand reached out pulling her to him and his mouth crashed over hers.

It took her a moment to get over the shock of his lips pressing, bruising to hers before she reacted, shoving him away on instinct.

She looked at him with wide eyes, her hand going to her mouth as he stood in front of her staring at her with lust. And she had never felt so wanted, she reached forward yanking him to her, crashing her mouth to his and he reacted instantly, yanking her body roughly against his own, his hands delving into her hair, as his mouth slanted over hers.

She arched her body against him, her hands gripping the fabric of his shirt, opening her mouth beneath his, and not a second later his tongue was invading her mouth, exploring the caverns of her mouth, and when his tongue tangled with her own, she moaned into his mouth.

Caroline felt like her entire body was igniting, the desire and lust coursing through her like a raging fire, her hands bunched at his shirt, tugging at the hem, they broke apart long enough for her to remove the shirt and their mouths were slanting again, his hand tangled in her hair as her hands pressed against his torso running them up to his chest and then slamming him into the wall, pressing her body to his, kissing him urgently.

Klaus groaned at the feel of her hands leaving a trail of fire against his skin, and turned slamming her into the wall, pulling his mouth from hers, his hands going to the fabric of her shirt and ripping it off of her. Caroline gasped and then gasped again as his mouth touched the swell of her breast, trailing his tongue along the edge of her bra.

Caroline moaned, leaning her head against the wall and arched into his mouth when he sucked the skin into his mouth, she was completely lost to the desire and lust he was creating within her that she didn't care that she shouldn't be doing this that he was Klaus and there were hundreds of reasons of why this was wrong. All she cared about was right now, she'd deal with the consequences later.

She ran her hands along his chest, raking her nails down his chest receiving a sharp hiss in turn and before she knew it he was literally ripping her bra from her body and taking a nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, teeth tugging, and then soothing the flesh with his tongue before switching to her other breast giving it the same treatment.

Her hands tangled in his hair, arching up into his mouth, moaning lowly at the sensation of his hot wet mouth on her body.

At her low moan Klaus slammed his hips against her, thrusting against her and she gasped at the feel of him hard and straining against his jeans, and without thought her hands went to his jeans, unbuttoning them quickly sliding the zipper down and reached a hand into his pants gripping him.

Klaus let out a low groan at the feel of her hand and tore his mouth from her breast, he quickly undid her jeans dragging her panties with them and ridding them from her body, getting rid of his own.

Caroline barely had time to look at him in his naked glory before he was lifting her wrapping her legs around his waist and slamming her back into the wall, she gasped feeling his cock at her entrance, ready to plunge into her wet depths. And for a moment everything stopped as they stared back at one another, not moving, a silent question passing from Klaus to her as he hesitated, giving her time to stop this.. Only...right now, in the moment, she didn't want to stop it. So she wrapped one arm around his shoulder and cupped his neck with the other, taking control of his mouth with her own, tightening her legs around his waist.

After that there was no hesitation as Klaus plunge into her, burrowing inside her heat to the hilt, Caroline gasped into his mouth at the feel of him filling her wholly and then again when he withdrew nearly completely before slamming back into her, she ripped her mouth from his letting out a scream of pleasure, rocking her hips against his as he took her, thrusting in and out of her body, his mouth finding it's way to her neck, sucking at the flesh there, she raked her hands down his back.

"Faster." She muttered into his ear, the hand at his neck sliding into his hair, tugging at it. Klaus grunted complying, speeding up his pace.

"Oh, God." Caroline moaned, breathlessly, hands raking down his back causing him to thrust more sharply into her, Caroline felt her orgasm building.

Klaus groaned as he felt her fluttering around his hard member telling him she was close, her moans of pleasure increasing, surging him on he pounded into her and a moment later she was screaming his name in pleasure, a sound he wasn't sure he would have ever got to hear but reveled in it now that he did.

Caroline panted as she rode our her orgasm, Klaus never once stopping his movements as she came down from her orgasm, she felt another one beginning to build, she was so lost in the pleasure that she didn't register the rush of wind or that he moved them until she found her back hitting a soft mattress as he never once stopped his thrusting, she moaned as he thrust into her deeply.

God he felt so good buried inside her.

She used her strength and flipped them sitting up, and feeling smug at Klaus's surprised expression, she circled her hips, moaning at the friction before raising her hips, lifting off him, before impaling herself hard on him again, she gasped in pleasure that turned to a surprised gasp as Klaus sat up abruptly his hands gripping her hips helping her ride him hard, chest to chest, staring at one another, he tugged her forward a hand in her hair kissing her before trailing his mouth over her ear down her neck and collarbone to her breast, taking it into his mouth one hand on the other breast the other tangled in her hair as she gripped his shoulder for leverage as she rode him, fast and hard, breathless moans escaping her and low groans escaping from him, and then Caroline was throwing her head back moaning in pleasure as she came and Klaus groaned and flipped them, thrusting into her fast, hard, deep, relentlessly, pounding into her, and Caroline sensitive from her two previous ones came again and then again, panting breathlessly, body humming with pleasure and he continued pounding into her without relenting.

And then she was begging not sure how much more she could take, pleading for something, anything. "Please, please, please, Klaus, please." She whimpered. And then he was lifting her hips, angling them, pulling nearly all the way out before slamming into her with such force she came with a shout, hand scratching down his back, drawing blood.

Klaus felt his spine stiffen as she gripped him and his thrust became more erratic as he helped her ride out her orgasm and then he came saying her name, face burying in her neck as he spilled himself into her.

They panted just lying there, against one another, recovering. Then Klaus pulled out of her and rolled onto his back.

Caroline laid there, a sheet pulled over her body, staring at the ceiling as she slowly came down from her orgasm.

Klaus was feeling rather surreal unable to believe that that just happened, he had worked so hard to get Caroline, being as charming as he could but in the end it was an angry argument that finally got her.

Caroline sat up abruptly in the bed, holding the sheet to her body now that she had come down from her orgasms and the haze of lust had cleared. She glanced down at herself then at Klaus who was watching her with that intense look he always gave her, she looked away from him running a hand through her hair. "Oh my God! That didn't just happen." She said in disbelief.

"Of course it did love." Klaus responded and she turned to see him smirking, hands folded behind his head.

"I can't believe I - how did-" She trailed off.

"Well, when two people are attracted to each other." Klaus began, arrogantly.

"Shut up!" Caroline snapped, standing from the bed, taking the sheet with her but when she did, she uncovered Klaus, her eyes swept down his body and she immediately turned away.

"Oh, don't be shy now." Klaus smirked.

"I can't believe I slept with you of all people." Caroline muttered more to herself than anything. She was a horrible person.

Klaus frowned at her, sitting up in the bed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Caroline turned to him but then turned back around. "Would you put some clothes on?!"

Klaus rolled his eyes, climbing out of bed and pulling on a pair of jeans. "What did you mean by that?"

Caroline glad he at least had put on some pants turned to face him. "What do you mean what did I mean? You're evil and horrible and the last thing I should have done was sleep with the likes of you."

"The likes of me." Klaus repeatedly dangerously.

"Yes." Caroline snapped. "You're evil and vindictive; all you do is ruin peoples' lives."

"I can't be all that bad." Klaus said, getting angry of her narrow view of him. "For you to let me fuck you." He said callously needing to lash out.

"Trust me, it won't be a mistake I'll be repeating." Caroline sneered, grabbing up a shirt from his room slipping it on and letting the sheet drop. It was large enough on her that it stopped mid-thigh. "It was stupid and impulsive of me, I won't be sinking so low again."

Her words ranged in his head. "You think you're better than me is that it?" He growled.

"Yes, I do." Caroline responded.

And Klaus was in front of her in an instant. "You should watch what you say or I'll have to remind you how quick it is for me to end you." He hissed. "Just because we slept together doesn't change that."

"Trust me, I won't be making that mistake again." Caroline said, defiantly.

Klaus chuckled darkly. "Tell yourself that if it makes you feel better but we both know you enjoyed it."

And Caroline glared at him.

Klaus noticed she didn't deny it. "And the next time you need your perfect feathers ruffled, need a good fuck I'll be here, because I gotta say, you were downright fuckable."

"You're disgusting," Caroline said disgusted, flashing downstairs grabbing up her clothes that weren't torn and quickly throwing them on and flashing out of the house.

Klaus watched her leave, anger simmering. That didn't go as he expected, he finally got her but she blew things out of proportion and he had reacted defensively toward her about her disgust for sleeping with him.

He may have finally got her but he lost her as well.

 **A/N: Sorry if the smut was bad. Review if you like. Thanks for reading. The next update will be on Monday.**


	3. Chapter 3

Caroline couldn't believe Elena went and stole her prom dress. Her friend was a downright bitch without her emotions.

And as if her week hadn't been bad enough. She felt terrible about sleeping with Klaus and then she felt bad about how she acted toward him despite everything, she felt bad for keeping it a secret from her friends knowing they wouldn't really understand. How could they? She didn't understand it herself. And then even though she and Tyler were broken up she felt like she cheated on him and the fact that it was with Klaus made it worse.

And then there was something weird going on with her, she was feeling sick as of late, nauseous and she even threw up a few times and blood wasn't all that appealing to her as of late like she lost the taste for it and she was getting headaches oddly enough, she thought about talking to her friends about it but with Jeremy dying, Silas, emotionless Elena, the search for the cure and everything else going on she didn't want to add her problems to the list, she was hoping that it would go away that whatever it was going on with her would just stop.

So she had been looking forward to Prom as a distraction from her problems but now she didn't have a dress to wear and she knew she couldn't go last minute shopping because all the good ones were gone which made her consider another option. Klaus. He surely would have something, after all he gave her that beautiful ball gown one. Only problem she hadn't spoken to him since their fight after they slept together but she needed a dress damn it and she wanted to look hot to spite Elena for stealing her dress.

Caroline arrived at the Mikaelson home.

* * *

Klaus stood in front of the fireplace staring at the burning flames, hearing Caroline's voice call out to him. He didn't respond not in the mood to get in one of their verbal arguments.

"Klaus? Klaus? Kl-" Caroline entered the room, eyes landing on him. "Hello? Did you not hear me?"

"Of course I heard you, Caroline. I think the whole of Mystic Falls heard you." He said in annoyance, after the dinner with Elijah and Rebekah and himself disagreeing about the cure he was in a rather foul mood. "I'm in no mood for company."

"Well, I'm sorry that you're having personal issues, but I have a real crisis on my hands." Although his personal issues were the last thing on her mind at the moment. "Elena stole my Prom dress!"

Klaus finally turned to face her, listening only to placate her 'cause he could care less about some human high school prom.

"I went to pick it up and the tailor said that somebody else already did. And when I asked who, she said she couldn't remember." Caroline look at him significantly, expecting him to respond but he didn't. "Hello? The vervain is out of the town water supply. She was compelled!"

Klaus unexpectedly felt his bad mood lifting as she talked and found himself laughing unable to help himself.

"It is not funny." Caroline glared at him.

"No, I know, I know." Klaus said, trying not to laugh further but was finding it difficult, smiling amused.

"Then stop laughing!" Caroline told him. "Look, I know that prom isn't important to you, but it's important to me."

Klaus paused, her words catching his attention because she was right it wasn't important to him but if it was important to her... "Well, surely finding another dress is well within your substantial vampire capabilities?"

Frustrated, Caroline turned on the spot. "Oh, but I don't want just another dress." She turned back around facing him again. "I wanna look hot. Like Princess-Grace-of-Monaco-hot." She paused. "I know I have no right to ask this considering how we left things but I would really appreciate it if you could help me out. So... could you please go back into your creepy trophy case of family collectibles and dig me out something of royal caliber?" She smiled at him winningly, hoping, and Klaus smiled back, still amused.

"Alright, just stay here; I'll see what I can find." Klaus told her, walking past her. "Feel free to make yourself comfortable."

Caroline turned watching him leave before taking a seat on the couch, waiting, checking the time on her phone.

She wasn't sure how long it was before Klaus returned with a box, plopping it on the table in the room. "I'm sure this will be to your taste."

Caroline stood walking over, coming to stand beside him lifting the lid to reveal a gorgeous white dress that was indeed something of royal caliber. "It's beautiful." She murmured, looking over to find him watching her intently. "Thank you." She told him.

"You're welcome." He told her.

She closed the lid. "I know it's none of my business but what had you in such a bad mood?" She asked, turning to face him.

Klaus was surprised that she bothered asking, seeming as she seemed more concerned about her prom problem when she first showed up. He hesitated before answering. "My siblings and I are at a disagreement."

"Family can be hard to deal with." Caroline said. "But I hope you can come to a compromise, family's not something to take for granted."

"I'll take that into consideration." Klaus told her, surprised by her words, if he didn't know better he would say she just opened up a little to him.

Caroline nodded then turned to leave again but then stopped with an irritable sigh at herself at how they left things nagged at her, the guilt she felt for how she reacted afterwards. She turned back around. "Look about that night..." She began.

"We don't need to talk about it." Klaus cut her off, not wanting to get in another argument when it seemed they were in a good place again.

"Maybe you don't but I have something to say." Caroline said.

"I'm sure you do." Replied Klaus wryly, turning away from her. "More insults to throw at me."

"You see, that's the thing." Caroline said. "I had no right to say what I did."

At her eyes Klaus turned back to her, waiting, surprised by her admission.

"That night I did something, I didn't think I would do, and not because I'm not attracted to you or that I don't feel something for you but because of who you are, what my friends, my mother would think." Caroline told him. "But that's no excuse for the things I said, it wasn't like I said no, I was a willing participant that night and I shouldn't have put all the blame on you."

Klaus stared at her, surprised by her words and he felt the rift between them getting smaller by the admission.

"I'm sorry." Caroline told him sincerely, before turning once again to leave.

"Caroline." Klaus called after her.

Caroline paused, looking back at him over her shoulder.

"I hope tonight is everything you dreamed it would be." He told her.

Caroline smiled softly at him and he smiled back before she turned and left, Klaus watched her leave with a genuine smile.

* * *

Prom was not what Caroline thought it would be, it didn't live up to her expectations. And if it weren't for Stefan she was sure she would have made quite the spectacle by attacking Elena. Quite frankly if Elena didn't get her humanity back on soon Caroline wasn't sure how much longer she'll be able to restrain herself from doing something to the emotionless brunette. After sharing a dance with Stefan she decided to head out early to the after party that would be held at Tyler's.

* * *

Despite telling Caroline he would take into consideration about compromising with his family he made matters worse with not only Rebekah but also with Elijah. His brother's words echoed in his head.

 _It is such a hollow little life you lead, Niklaus._

And with those words in his head, he wanted something, someone to prove him wrong. His mind immediately going to Caroline.

* * *

Caroline carried groceries bags into the house. She set them down but when she turned she was surprised to see Tyler standing there in a suit and holding a bouquet of flowers. "Tyler."

"I don't think you've ever looked more beautiful." Tyler complimented her.

"Oh my god. Tyler." She rushed to him, hugging him, kissing him briefly. "Oh, you can't be here. Klaus-"

"Can't get in." Tyler interrupted. "Matt owns this place now. He had to invite me inside."

Despite that Caroline was still worried. "If Klaus finds out-"

"He won't." Tyler interrupted again. "You didn't really think I was gonna miss prom, did you?" Caroline laughed and Tyler laughed with her and then held up the flowers. "Here these are for you. Caroline Forbes, may I please have this dance?"

Caroline nodded happily.

* * *

After giving Silas the information he wanted, Klaus found himself at the school prom only the girl he came looking for wasn't there, instead he had an encounter with his sister and once again made things worse.

Afterwards he left to where he believed Caroline would be.

* * *

While she was happy at first to see Tyler, dancing with him, him being there, it didn't last because as she danced with him, she remembered how she slept with Klaus, who killed Tyler's mother who didn't know they slept together and even though her and Tyler were broken up she still felt terrible about it.

So after gathering up the courage she stopped their dance taking a step back. "Tyler, I...I have something to tell you and you're not going to like it."

"What is it?" Tyler said in concern. "What's the matter?"

"I did something, something bad." She admitted.

"What?" Tyler asked, confused. "What did you do?"

Caroline opened and closed her mouth, trying to get the words out but failing. "Klaus." She finally said.

"What about him?" Tyler asked eyes narrowing.

"I-" Caroline struggled.

"You what, Caroline?" Tyler pressed, tone hardening.

Caroline took a deep breath. "I slept with Klaus." The stricken look on Tyler's face only made her feel worse.

"You what?" He growled.

"I'm sorry." Caroline said immediately. "I am so sorry, Tyler."

"You're sorry!" Tyler scoffed, shaking his head in disgust, turning and walking out.

Caroline followed after him quickly. "Tyler, please, just let me explain." She followed him out on the porch.

"Explain what?!" Tyler whirled around angrily. "You cheated on me with Klaus of all people."

"We were broken up." Caroline defended.

Unknowingly to them they had an audience of the man currently being discussed. Klaus wanted nothing more than to tear Tyler apart, make good on his promise to kill him but it was Caroline's night and he didn't want to ruin it for her, but by the looks of it, it already was. He was a little surprised that she had come clean about them but then again he shouldn't have been because Caroline was one of the most honest people he knew.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tyler demanded angrily. "He killed my mom, Caroline!"

"Tyler," Caroline stepped forward.

"Stay back!" Tyler warned.

"Tyler, please." Taking another step but suddenly found herself being slammed into the house wall.

"I said stay back!" He growled, eyes gold, fangs bared, growling.

Caroline gasped eyes wide. "Tyler-" but she was cut off as his hand wrapped around her throat and he yanked her forward, only to slam her into the wall again.

"Shut up!" He roared throwing his head back, overcome by his rage, ready to sweep in for the lethal bite.

But just as he swooped in angled for her neck, he was ripped away from her, being tossed to the floor. "Get your hands off of her." Klaus growled flashing over to him and gripping him by the neck hoisting him in the air. "I should kill you now."

"Klaus, no!" Caroline exclaimed, pushing of the wall.

Tyler glared defiantly at Klaus. "Finally got what you wanted, congratulations."

"You have no idea what I want." Klaus snapped, tightening his grip to where Tyler was struggling. "I should rip your heart out and be done with it."

"Klaus!" Caroline yelled. "Don't!"

"Even now when you just tried to kill her she pleads for your life." Klaus sneered. "You don't deserve it!" His tone was menacing and he pulled his hand back ready to plunge it into his chest.

Caroline rushed forward grabbing his hand in hers, not straining it but holding it. "Klaus, don't." She pleaded.

Klaus turned to look at her, saw her eyes shining, the desperate look and felt himself faltering.

"Please." Caroline pleaded. "If any of what you feel for me is genuine, let him go." When Klaus only stared at her she added. "Please, I'm asking you to not kill him."

Klaus slowly loosened his hand she held and Caroline wrapped her hand around his, pleading silently, he turned back to Tyler releasing his grip and dropping him. "Leave. Now." He growled.

Tyler got to his feet glaring at both of them before flashing off.

Klaus reigned in his anger before turning to her. "Are you alright?" He asked not bothering to hide his concern.

Caroline nodded. "Yeah." She let out a shaky breath. "Just a little shaken."

Klaus reached out rubbing his arms up and down her arms soothingly. "It's okay, you're alright." He said trying to offer her comfort.

"Thanks to you." She said, gratefully.

And Klaus felt his chest tighten as she looked at him in gratitude, he was so used to her looking at him with distrust and suspicion, revulsion even sometimes but never gratitude and he wanted more of it. "What were you thinking angering a hybrid line that, you could have been killed."

"I-I just wanted to be honest with him." Caroline said. "I didn't want to have to lie. I knew he'd be angry but I never thought he would attack me." A stray tear escaped her eye and she reached a hand up to wipe it away but he beat her to it.

He cupped her cheek, wiping it away with his thumb. "Sometimes when we're angry we do things we wouldn't otherwise, things we later come to regret."

Caroline nodded, gently pulling his hand from her cheek but giving it a squeeze so he wouldn't think she was rejecting his attempt to comfort her. "Thank you." She told him, releasing his hand, both his hands falling to his sides, she glanced back at the house no longer wanting to be there.

And as if sensing her thoughts, Klaus said. "Do you still intend to stay or will you be returning home for the evening?"

"Home." She answered after a moment. "I'm not really in a party mood."

"Well, at least allow me to escort you home." Klaus offered.

"That's not necessary." Caroline told him.

And Klaus marveled that there was no bite in her words. "I insist." He said with his best charming smile.

Caroline could see he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Alright, just let me set everything up it won't take long." And then she walked back into Tyler's home and with vamp speed was done in less than fifteen minutes. She walked back out and found Klaus waiting, he nodded at her, offering her his arm and she took it as they walked to her car in the driveway, he opened her door for her before rounding back to the passenger side and climbing in.

She tried again. "You know you don't have to."

"It's not that easy to get rid of me." He cut her off and then grinned. "You should know that by now."

"I do know that." Caroline said, putting them into gear and starting down the dirt road, she felt Klaus's eyes on her and glanced over at him, meeting his gaze for a moment before returning her eyes to the road, trying to ignore the way he always stared at her with such intensity that had she'd been human her heart would have been pounding in her chest, as it was it felt like it was doing so despite being a vampire.

When they arrived at her house she parked in the driveway turning the car off, she reached for the door but found Klaus had already gotten out of the car and was opening it for her, extending a helping hand.

She gave him a small smile before accepting and the surprised but pleased look appear on his face, she climbed from the car, problem was they now stood very close together that she could practically feel the heat from his body, taking a step back from him he closed the door before offering his arm again.

"Intent on walking me right to my door?" She asked, slightly teasing.

"And seeing you inside." Klaus told her with a smile.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes good-naturedly before taking his arm, he walked up the path to her house and on to her porch. "Well, thank you for seeing me home but I think I can take it from here." She released his arm.

He nodded with a smile, Caroline had turned heading for the door but paused at his voice. "Caroline?"

She looked back at him, waiting.

"I'm sorry tonight didn't turn out the way you want it to." He told her sincerely. "I know how important it was to you and believe it or not I wanted to give you your dream night."

Caroline paused considering his words before turning back around to face him. "You didn't get your dance?" Caroline said and at his confused look she added knowingly. "That's why you were there, wasn't it?"

Klaus laughed under his breath. "Yes, it was. I quite enjoy our dances."

Caroline smiled softly. "I think I have one more dance left in me, if you still want that dance."

Klaus stepped forward with a smile. "Then I would be honored."

"Are you sure?" She asked, though she was sure he wouldn't turn a dance down. "There's no music." She pointed out.

"Doesn't matter." Klaus said, taking her hand and tugging her gently to him. "I don't need music to dance with you." He said, taking her other hand placing it on his shoulder then wrapping his arm around her waist, and began swaying them in a slow dance with ease. "I wasn't sure I would ever get to dance with you, without you being well you."

Caroline laughed. "Is that your way of saying without me being a bitch?"

"Hostile." Klaus corrected.

"Em-hmm." Caroline smiled. "I think I can cut you some slack just this once."

"Just this once." Klaus smiled. "We'll have to work on increasing that."

Caroline despite herself smiled and they fell silent as they danced closely.

It was several moments later when she stepped back from their dance ending it. "I should get inside."

Klaus nodded not saying anything.

"Tonight was important to me." She told him.

"I know." He said.

"Tonight might not have been perfect." Caroline said, stepping forward. "But it was special and a lot of that had to do with you." She leaned forward brushing a kiss across his cheek before pulling back to see Klaus staring at her intensely and a little surprised. "Thank you." She told him, and then turned walking to her door and pulling it open.

"Caroline." Klaus said and she paused in the doorway waiting. "I was glad to be a part of your special night despite the circumstances."

Caroline only smiled with a nod.

"Goodnight Caroline." Klaus told her.

"Goodnight Klaus." She returned the sentiment smiling softly before going inside and closing the door quietly behind her.

Klaus stared at the closed door for a moment before a slow smile spread across his face and then he flashed away.

 **A/N: Leave a review if you like. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

Caroline walked up to the Mikaelson mansion hoping Klaus wouldn't mind that she was coming over unannounced.

"Klaus?" Caroline called. "Klaus? Are you home?" She called from the foyer and just when she was considering coming back later he rounded the corner.

"Caroline?" He smiled. "This is certainly a surprise."

"I know I should have called first-" She began but was cut off.

"Nonsense." Klaus told her. "You're more than welcomed here. So what can I do for you? I assume you want something."

"I do." Caroline said, not bothering to deny it. "I was hoping you could do me a favor and help me out with something."

"If it is within my capabilities I'll see what I can do." Klaus told her.

"Well as you are more aware than anyone Silas's abilities with mind control passes even that of your family." Caroline began.

"I am aware." Klaus said tensely.

"Well, I was thinking what if one could block out his ability you know like resisting mind compulsion." Caroline said.

"Yes but you resist mind compulsion with vervain." Klaus pointed out.

"Not necessarily." Caroline said, thinking of her father.

"What are you talking about?" Klaus asked, shortly.

"My father was able to resist compulsion without the assistance of vervain." Caroline told him.

Klaus was surprised by this, he'd never heard of such a thing before. "How?"

"He said it was the mind, the mind could be trained, that the mind was more powerful than given credit for." Caroline said.

"Caroline." Klaus began. "Even I couldn't keep Silas out of my head."

"I know it's a long shot, but my father was able to do it and I want to at least try to do the same." Caroline said.

"How long did it take your father to learn that skill?" Klaus inquired. "I'm sure it wasn't over night."

"Years." Caroline admitted after a moment.

"Years?" Klaus repeated. "And what? You expect to be able to do the same in so little time?"

"Well no." Caroline answered honestly. "But I would like to get a start on at least trying; however, I'm a vampire and can't be compelled unless it's by an original that's where you come in."

Klaus looked at her in surprise. "You want me to help you with this little mission of yours by compelling you?"

"Yes." Caroline answered.

"You trust me that much?" He looked at her searchingly.

"To be honest, I'm not sure I do." Caroline admitted. "But out of all the originals I do in fact trust you the most. I don't know your brother, Elijah, Rebekah and I can't get along for the life of us which leaves you."

"I feel so honored to be your last choice." Klaus said dryly.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "You're not my last choice, lately when I have a problem I turn to you."

Klaus stared at her. "Why?"

Caroline considered not answering but felt compelled to at the intensity in his eyes. "Because I know you'll be there. That you wouldn't let me down."

Klaus stared at her a moment before giving her a smile. "When do you want to start?"

"Now would be good." Caroline smiled. "The faster I learn the better and it's going to take time and serious effort, so yeah, now would be good."

Klaus nodded and turned her around, leading her further into his home, his hand hovering over her lower back.

* * *

"Okay, seriously, I feel like we're getting nowhere." Caroline complained.

"We have only been trying for a week." Klaus laughed, though he might have been biased since he was spending a large amount of time in her company.

"I haven't been able to fight the compulsion, not once." Caroline was beginning to get frustrated.

"Rome wasn't built in a day, Caroline." Klaus told her.

Caroline ignored him. "Maybe I need a little more incentive."

"Like what, love?" Klaus raised a brow at her.

Caroline was quiet for a moment, considering whether her idea was good or not, admittedly it was reckless. "Compel me to do something life-threatening to myself." And watched as his face went blank.

"No." He said flatly.

"Think about it I'll have a reason to really try not to." Caroline persisted.

"I am not compelling you to threaten your own life, Caroline." He said flatly.

"I'm not saying let me kill myself just you know, stop me and un-compel me if I can't fight it off."

"No." He said flatly.

"Klaus-"

"I said no." He said, voice like steel.

"Find, how about a compromise?" Caroline signed annoyed. "How about just compel me to cut myself or something?"

"Caroline!" Klaus sighed in exasperation.

"We're not going to get anywhere if I don't have any real motivation." Caroline said, but saw he was unmoved, she sighed. "I trust you." She told him.

Klaus sighed, her words doing him in. "Fine!"

* * *

"Fight it, Caroline!" Klaus told her.

"I'm trying." She said, slicing a knife across her wrist.

"Try harder." He snapped.

They had been at this now for two weeks.

"This isn't working; we need to try something else." Klaus said, shortly.

* * *

"Are you serious?" Caroline's eyes were wide as she gripped the stake soaked in vervain poised over her leg.

"You either fight it or you're going to be in quite a bit of pain, love." Klaus told her, pushing his reservations away.

Caroline sent him a heated glare as she tried desperately but failed, screaming out in pain, she withdrew the stake and impaled it again, screaming out again.

Klaus steeled himself against her screams, turning away, unable to see her pain it was bad enough he had to hear it, but turned back when she breathed in raggedly.

"I can't do this. This was stupid and reckless." She said. "I was wrong. I'm not strong enough."

Klaus turned back to her, moving forward and kneeling in front of her. "Don't say that. You are." He said. "You have no idea how strong you are."

Caroline locked gazes with him, breathing deeply from the pain. "And how would you know?"

"Because I know you, you're brave, fearless and selfless and you don't do anything by half." Said Klaus. "When you're faced with a problem you don't run and hide you face it head on. You face everything head on. You look for the best in people and you never back down, never give in, never give up 'cause that's not who you are." Caroline's breath caught in her throat, and she found herself caught in his intense gaze, his words like a balm on her insecurities. "You, Caroline Forbes, are a fighter."

Caroline didn't know how to respond to that so she only nodded, slowly, gaze still locked with his before ripping the stake from her leg, she clenched her jaw to keep from screaming out with the pain it caused.

Klaus saw the fire in her eyes anew and smiled standing and taking a step back. "Concentrate, think of what you want and fight the compulsion and then break it."

"Break it." Caroline repeated.

"Now again only this time aim for your stomach." Klaus told her, using the compulsion once again.

Caroline wordlessly lifted the stake high before bringing it back swiftly toward her abdomen but at the last possible second her arm jerked and she threw the stake with such force it imbedded itself in the wall of Klaus's home.

Caroline stared on, wide-eyed in shock and surprise before she let out a surprise laugh, she got up from her chair and went to the stake examining the wall it was imbedded in before turning to Klaus with a happy grin to see him smiling his crooked smile at her. "I did it!" She said in disbelief.

"That you did." Said Klaus with a nod of his head.

Caroline grinned unable to contain her happiness at the small amount of progress they finally made after the weeks that had pass of her trying to break compulsion, she walked toward him and catching him off guard threw her arms around his neck.

It took Klaus a moment to get over the surprise of her initiating physical contact with him on her own but once he did he slowly hesitantly wrapped his arms around her after a moment he relaxed and his arms tightened around her instinctively.

Caroline pulled back from him with a grin, removing her arms from around him but not taking more than a step back. "I can't believe I did it."

Klaus released her reluctantly. "I think this calls for a celebration. What do you say to dinner?"

Caroline paused, surprise by the offer and the fact that she didn't immediately want to say no. "Yes." She finally answered. "I would like that."

Klaus smiled his crooked smile, he had been expecting her to say no but he was pleased that he had been wrong in his assumption. "I know this quite exquisite restaurant, surprisingly enough the only place in this little town worth going to."

"Hey!" Caroline swatted at his chest. "No insulting my town."

Klaus chuckled. "My apologies love." He braced a hand on her back. "But before we go you might want to clean up, you can't very well walk into an establishment covered in blood and not expect to cause a scene, now can you?"

Caroline looked down at her blood covered jeans where she had stabbed herself several times in both her legs. "Right." She said having forgotten about that. "So I'll just head home and change and then we can go get dinner."

"Sounds good." Said Klaus, leading her through his home, his hands braced on her lower back.

* * *

Sometime later, after Caroline had returned home, showered and changed clothes, found Klaus and Caroline in a rather low key but rather nice Italian restaurant. "This seems more like a date setting." Commented Caroline, taking a drink from her wine glass.

"I have no idea what you mean?" Said Klaus, feigning innocence.

Caroline hummed doubtfully. "So I figured once I start resisting your compulsion with ease that we could try and up the ante and see if I can keep you from getting inside my head."

Klaus had been raising his glass to his lips for a drink but placed it back on the table. "You're placing a lot of trust in me with this, Caroline."

"I know." Caroline replied quietly, looking at him. "And usually I wouldn't trust you at least not with the people I care about."

"Yet you trust me with your own life." Said Klaus his blue gaze locking on hers intensely.

"Because I know you won't hurt me." Said Caroline, leaving out that time when he stabbed her and bit her. "Or I hope you wouldn't."

"I won't." Klaus swore to her. "The amount of trust you put in me I haven't said it but it means a lot to me that you trusted me enough to help you with this."

Caroline reached a hand out, placing a hand over his arm and giving it a squeeze, smiling softly at him.

A comfortable silence fell over them as they smiled at one another gazes locked until the sound of Caroline's cell broke through it. She moved her hand from his arm grabbing her phone from her pocket. "It's Stefan." She said.

"Go ahead." Klaus gestured for her to answer, tearing his gaze from her and lifting his wine glass to his lips taking a long drink.

"Hey, Stefan." Caroline greeted.

Klaus watched her over the rim of his glass.

"I'm busy at the moment but I'll come by later, in an hour and half or so. Okay. Yeah. See you then." Caroline finished the call and hung up, placing her phone on the table. "Sorry about that." She apologized.

Klaus waved her off. "So tell me how is graduation planning coming along?"

Caroline smiled and proceeded to tell him how things were going and the conversation naturally drifted to lots of subjects to Caroline's plans for after high school. She told Klaus how she Bonnie and Elena had plans to attend the same college, share a dorm room, she was hopeful that by then Elena's humanity would be back on and they would be past all this Silas and cure drama.

Klaus smiled listening to every word, enjoying her company. He enjoyed that they had grown close enough to talk about their plans and a lot of things in general. He just really enjoyed being in Caroline's presence, there was just something about Caroline that being around her made you feel things, other things seemed to matter less, his problems with his siblings, Silas, they didn't seem to matter all that much when he was with her because when he was with Caroline that was all that mattered.

* * *

Over the next two weeks Caroline had gotten better at resisting compulsion so much to the point she was able to fight it off most of the times when it did take hold of her but mostly compulsion stopped having an effect on her. And because she was able to do so more often than not, they moved past the compulsion, now Klaus would attempt to get in her head and she would try to block him out of at the very least expel him out if she was unable to block him. But so far she was only capable of expelling him from her mind.

She wasn't able to stop him from getting inside her head but it was progress and she hoped with time she would be able to block anyone from getting in her head ever again.

She drove down the road after leaving Klaus's after another session when her car engine cut out coming to a stop, she cursed, trying to restart the car but failing to do so. "Great. Just great." She opened the car door and stepped out of the car, pulling her phone out just as she closed the car door.

She glanced around at her surroundings looking for a road marker and not seeing anything but trees lining the road and the quickly darkening sky. She was just about to call for a tow truck when she heard the sound of a car nearby, she watched as a car came into sight and stopped beside her, two dark haired women inside.

"Are you having some car trouble?" The one on the driver side asked.

"Yes but I have it handled." Caroline answered with a polite smile.

They both stepped out of the car. "We can give you a ride into town if you like?" The other one offered.

"That's not necessary." Caroline told them. "I'm just going to call a tow service and then have a friend come pick me up." She dialed the tow service number, pressing her phone to her ear.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to assist." Said the one that had been driving the car.

"What?" Caroline leveled them with a confused look at their insistence. "Look, I appreciate the gesture but I'm fine so you can just get back in your car an-" she cut off abruptly as the women blew something out of her hand into her face. And she immediately began to cough and waved her hand in front of her face to wave whatever it was off to no avail.

"What the hell?!" She said, growing angry, feeling the veins raised under her eyes and her fangs elongate but as soon as she made a move toward them, her step faltered and her vision went unfocused. "What did you-" she stumbled backwards into her car, leaning against it for leverage. "Wha-" her words trailed off as she felt herself collapse to the ground her phone slipping out of her hand and clattering to the ground with her vision darkening the last thing Caroline saw before she lost consciousness was the two dark haired women standing over her.

 **A/N: I always liked how Bill Forbes was able to resist compulsion so this was me expanding on that skill only with Caroline instead.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I meant to post last night but I forgot. My bad. Anyway I hope you're enjoying the story so far.**

Stefan's phone buzzed in his pocket from where he sat at his desk, pondering just what he and Damon were going to do if they couldn't get Elena's humanity back on. He fished his phone out of his pocket to see the sheriff's name flashing on the screen, his eyebrow raised in surprise as to why she might be calling him. "Liz." He said in greeting.

"Stefan, have you heard from Caroline or seen her recently?" Asked Liz, usually she didn't worry too much about her daughter knowing she was more than capable of handling herself and being a vampire she was nowhere near defenseless but when Caroline never came home last night it threw some red flags up for her. It was unlike Caroline to stay out all night and not let her know where she was going to be, not sense they grew closer after she accepted the fact that her daughter was a vampire.

Stefan frowned. "Not since yesterday? Why?"

"She never came home last night." Said Liz, the worry shining through. "Usually I wouldn't worry too much but with this entire search for the cure and Silas it has me more than a little concerned."

Stefan understood where she was coming from things were crazy at the moment and now that he thought about it, Caroline hadn't been around all that much recently, keeping herself busy with other matters. He had assumed it had to do with the last few weeks of senior stuff, preferring to stay out of the whole cure and Silas business and stay away from Elena since they left things on a bad note and she had to practically restrain herself from attacking her friend. "Have you tried calling her?"

"Several times but it's gone straight to voicemail." Liz sighed.

"Okay." Said Stefan. "I'll try calling her and asking around if anyone's heard from her."

"Airtight, call me if you get a hold of her or hear anything." Liz told him.

"Liz, I'm sure she's fine and just got caught up but I'll call you as soon as I know anything." Stefan said, wanting to reassure her.

"Alright, just do what you can to help find her." Says Liz before hanging up.

Stefan immediately called Caroline's phone afterwards only for it to go straight to voicemail. He called Bonnie next seeing if she seen heard from Caroline since yesterday, she hadn't, Stefan was trying not to worry but after several more tries trying to reach Caroline and receiving only her voicemail he was quickly growing concerned.

Deciding that he was getting nowhere he pocketed his phone, grabbed his jacket and left the boarding house deciding to go out and search for her.

Klaus checked the time on his phone and sighed in annoyance. Caroline was running late and he thought the least she could do was let him know so he wasn't waiting around for her to show like some high schooler waiting by the phone for a damn phone call.

He dialed her number, pushing down the flare of annoyance rushing through his system when all he got was her voicemail. "Caroline, love, where are you? You're late and common courtesy dictates that if you're running late you should give your friend - that would be me - a call so he isn't left waiting." He sighed. "Just get here sweetheart or at least call and let me know when you will be here."

He pocketed his phone and poured himself a shot of bourbon, downing the shot and returned to his sketch he had been working on.

Stefan had spent the last couple hours scouring Mystic Falls when he came across Caroline's car abandoned on the side of the road. He looked around for any signs of her but there was none, and there didn't appear to be a struggle, hoping that she had simply only had a little car trouble he got in the driver seat and turned the keys in the ignition, his hope was dashed as the car started with no problems, he stepped back out of the car and almost stepped on a cell phone on the ground, he picked it up recognizing it as Caroline's phone.

Stefan frowned, Caroline wouldn't have just abandoned her car and she wouldn't have just simply drop her phone and not pick it back up. No, something had to have happened.

He fished his phone out of his pocket, and called The Sheriff, filling her in on what he found. And twenty minutes later. Liz pulled up alongside him exiting her car a worried look on his face. She looked around the scene, surveying the area for any clues. "Were there any signs of a struggle or something before you got here? Anything?"

"Just her phone on the ground." Stefan answered. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her car."

"Someone did this." Said Liz, her eyes hardening. "Someone took her. Someone took my daughter."

"Look, we're going to find her. I promise." Stefan told her.

"Why would someone go after Caroline?" Asked Liz. "Do you think it was Silas?"

"No." Said Stefan. "He would have told us, if he had her. He likes his mind games. No someone else took her."

Liz turned away from him, and ran a hand over her face, taking a moment to calm herself down, she wouldn't be any help to her daughter if she couldn't remain calm and rational.

Stefan watched her feeling a wave of sympathy wash over him. "Liz, we're going to find her."

Liz turned back to him. "Yeah, we will." She said, determinedly. "Her phone? What's on her call log?"

Stefan quickly swiped his thumb over Caroline's phone screen, checking her call log. "It looks like she was calling the local tow service and she had several missed calls from you, me and..." His brow furrowed.

"And?" Prodded Liz. "Who else?"

He looked up from Caroline's phone. "Klaus."

"Klaus?" Liz repeated. "Why would Klaus be calling Caroline?"

"I don't know." Stefan admitted.

"Well, do you think he had something to do with this?" She demanded.

"Honestly, I don't think he would hurt her." Said Stefan. "But he may know something; he seems to always know something."

"Then I'm going to find out." Liz snatched Caroline's phone from his hand and whirled around, heading for her car.

"Whoa, hold on, Liz." Stefan said, whooshing in front of her path. "You need to be smart about this. This is Klaus we're talking about. He's not someone you go making demands of."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?!" Liz glared angrily. "My daughter is missing, Stefan. If he knows something I'm damn well going to find out!"

"I'll go. Caroline wouldn't be able to handle it if anything happened to you." Said Stefan. "I'll find out what he knows and then I'll call you."

"No." Said Liz firmly. "I'm going with you." Stefan opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "It's not up for discussion Stefan. I'm going."

"Okay." Stefan sighed. And hoped nothing happened to Liz while she was with him because Caroline would never forgive him if he let something happen to her mother when he could have done something about it.

"Alright, good. Get in the car. I'll drive us." Said Liz, moving around him and getting in her patrol car as soon as Stefan rounded the car and climbed into the passenger seat, she was peeling down the road, heading toward the Mikaelson mansion.

"Klaus?" Stefan called out once he passed the foyer of the mansion, glancing around for the original hybrid in question.

Liz trailed a couple feet behind him, looking around eyes hard, her steps cautious.

"Klaus?" Stefan called again. But no sooner did the name leave his mouth before he found himself pinned to the wall, his back slamming into it with a resounding crack, rattling his bones a hand wrapped tightly around his throat like a vice.

"Stefan, mate, tell me what brings you here to my home without so much as an invitation?" Klaus glared at him, he didn't know who Stefan thought he was but he had another thing coming if he thought he could just walk into his home when he was not welcomed.

Stefan tried to pry his hand off his throat. "I-I ne-need your hel-help."

Klaus chuckled derisively. "Now you must really be delusional to think you can just come into my home asking for my help after all the times you and your lot has conspired against me. Repeatedly."

"Release him." Liz said firmly voice brooking no room for argument, gun aimed and leveled on Klaus.

Klaus paused glancing over his shoulder. "Sheriff wasn't expecting you." He took notice of the gun and smirked. "You know that won't kill me."

"No but it sure as hell will hurt like hell." Said Liz scathingly. "I imagine wooden bullets soaked in not only vervain but also wolfsbane can't feel too good when it's imbedded in your bullet ridden flesh."

Klaus stared at her. "I can see where Caroline gets her bravado must run in the gene."

Liz clenched her jaw tightly, eyes hardening. "I said let him go and I won't repeat myself again!"

If it was anyone else Klaus would have snapped their neck but this was Caroline's mother and he knew it wouldn't go over well with her if he was to snap her mother's neck or kill Stefan for that matter. He let out a growl of annoyance before releasing Stefan and taking a step back. "Why are you here?"

"My daughter, where is she?" Liz demanded, not lowering the gun.

"Why would I know where Caroline is?" Klaus shot back rhetorically. "You're her mother, maybe you should learn to keep better tabs on your daughter if you have to come to me to ask of her whereabouts."

Liz hand tightened on her gun, almost twitching with the urge to shoot him for the remark. "I'm in no mood for your games. Tell me where Caroline is or so help me I will empty a clip in your ass!"

"Your wound a bit tight, Sheriff." Klaus observed with an amused smirk. "Bad day?"

"This is serious Klaus!" Stefan cut in before the sheriff could respond, he moved toward Liz, seeing how her hand flexed on the gun as if she was fighting off the urge to pull the trigger, and he placed his arm gently on hers and lowered it. Liz shot him a disapproving look but holstered her gun reluctantly. "Caroline's missing."

Klaus tensed, dark look passing his features. "What do you mean she's missing?" He grounded out through clenched teeth.

"No one's heard from her since yesterday and then we just found her car abandoned on the side of the road and when we saw you were the last to call her we thought you might be able to tell us something." Stefan told him. "When was the last time you heard from her?"

"Yesterday." Klaus answered, turning away from them jaw clenching, trying to run through the possibilities as to why Caroline would have abandoned her car but none of them were good. Not when it had Stefan and her mother convinced she was missing.

"Why has she been talking to you?" Liz asked, drawing his attention back to her.

"After what happened with Silas, Caroline, came to me wanting my help in learning to resist mind compulsion." Klaus admitted, turning to face them. "She's been coming here nearly every day; I called her because she was supposed to have been here already."

Liz didn't know what to make of her daughter going to Klaus for help and it wasn't what mattered at the moment. "Do you have any idea where she could be?"

"No." Klaus responded, eyes hard. "Was there any other signs where she left her car?"

Stefan didn't know why Caroline didn't tell him anything about going to Klaus for help. "No, we thought maybe her car broke down but that doesn't appear to be the case."

Klaus turned away from them, feeling anger rising to the surface, if someone took Caroline then they would live to regret it for he would give them a fate worse than death. He turned back to tell them to take him to where her car was abandoned, when he heard something he turned heading in the direction of the sound.

"Klaus?" Stefan called out questioningly, following after him quickly, Liz falling into step beside him

Klaus looked around his study, he could have swore he heard someone in here, his eyes scanned the room before falling on a table with a letter leaning against the vase there. He snatched it up quickly seeing it was addressed to him and ripped it open, taking it out of the envelope, reading over the letter quickly.

 _Klaus, I hear Elijah has refused you the cure and in return, you have refused me my freedom. Shame on you both. But while you boys sort out your problems, I have one last thing to offer you. I've caught wind that there is a witch in New Orleans named Jane-Anne Devaraux plotting a move against you. Hunt her down. What she has to say will rattle you so deeply to your core that chasing little old me will be the least of your concerns. And if you discovered that Caroline Forbes is missing you will want to ask the Devaraux witch of her whereabouts. It's been a fun five centuries, Klaus, but I've worn down too many good heels running from you. Love and hate, Katerina._

Klaus looked up a dark look on his face.

"What is it?" Stefan asked, seeing the look on his face and knowing it wasn't good.

"If this letter is to be believed Caroline was taken by a witch in New Orleans who is making a move against me." Klaus told him.

"You're saying my daughter is in danger because of you?" Liz said angrily. "If anything happens to Caroline I will do everything I can to find a way to kill you."

Klaus ignored her that and faced the Sheriff. "I will not let anything happen to Caroline. I will go get her and bring her back home safely."

"I'm going with you." Stefan said immediately.

"No you're not." Klaus waved him off. "I don't need you getting in my way."

"This is Caroline we're talking about Klaus." Stefan set his jaw determinedly. "If she's in danger I'm coming with you."

"So am I." Declared Liz.

"No." Stefan and Klaus echoed one another and then glared at each other.

"This is too dangerous, Liz." Said Stefan.

"I don't care." Snapped Liz. "I want my daughter back unharmed!"

"And I will get her back but I can't have you getting yourself killed in the meantime." Klaus told her. "Caroline would never forgive me. I promise I will get her back."

"I don't trust you with my daughter, so Stefan goes with you or I do." Said Liz not caring that she was giving Klaus Mikaelson of all people an ultimatum.

"Ignoring the fact that I don't have to go along with anything the two of you say if I didn't want to, may I say I can see where Caroline gets her flare for making ultimatums and demands from."

What's it going to be Klaus? " Liz asked eyes hard, holding his gaze unflinchingly.

"Stefan, be ready to leave in fifteen minutes." Klaus told him, not looking away from Liz. "Make no mistake I'm going to make sure nothing happens to Caroline but I'm not doing it for either of you." He was doing it for himself because she mattered to him.

Liz only nodded. "Stefan, you better call me as soon as you find her."

"I will." Stefan promised.

Liz nodded and turned striding out the door.

Stefan turned to Klaus. "If anything happens to Caroline..."

"Nothing's going to happen to her." Klaus cut him off, glaring harshly. "I'll burn down all of New Orleans if I have to, to find her and make sure of it." He vowed.

Stefan swallowed; he only heard Klaus speak with that much malice and aggression when it came to his family and Klaus himself. It made him wonder just how deep Klaus's feelings for Caroline ran.

Klaus crumbled up the note Katerina left him and vowed that if Caroline was harmed in any way he would paint the streets of New Orleans red, starting with the blood of the witch who dared to try and take her from him.

 **A/N: There's no Caroline in this chapter but she'll be in the next chapter. A lot.**


	6. Chapter 6

Caroline awoke with a start on cold concrete, her entire body aching. She looked around the room, she appeared to be in some crypt, she continued to scan the room until her eyes landed on a familiar face sitting on a concrete bench. Her eyes widened. "Hayley?"

"Guess I don't have to ask why you're here?" said Hayley snidely.

"What?" Caroline asked in confusion moving to stand up only to find herself shackled to a wall. "What the hell?" She yanked on it several times but it didn't even budge.

"I'm sure, that's not going to work." Said Hayley in a irritated voice. "The witches probably made sure of it."

"What the hell is going on here?!" Caroline exclaimed. "What witches? Why am I here? Why the hell are you here?"

"Short version we're part of some plan some witches have cooked up against Klaus." Hayley told her. "Which would explain why you're here."

"I can't believe this! I hate being Klaus bate!" Caroline shook her head, angrily yanking on the chains.

She could feel Hayley's eyes on her before she spoke. "Aren't you curious as to why I'm here?"

"No, not really." said Caroline but then paused now that Hayley had mentioned it, she didn't know what connection Hayley had to Klaus other than her tipping him off that Tyler had been helping the rest of Klaus's hybrids break their sire bonds. "What could the witches want with you?"

Hayley eyed her for a moment before she spoke. "Apparently I'm pregnant with Klaus's miracle baby."

Caroline's ears filled with white noise and her eyesight narrowed down to just the dark haired girl. Caroline was sure she heard wrong because there was no way Hayley said what she thought she heard her say. "I'm sorry, I think you just said you were pregnant and Klaus was the father."

"I did." said Hayley, annoyance written clearly across her face.

"You're lying. That's not possible. Vampires can't procreate." Caroline shook her head in denial.

"Apparently they can." Retorted Hayley. "At least Klaus can."

"Not that I believe you but how is that even possible?" demanded Caroline.

"I don't care if you believe me or not." Hayley rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I would have come clean to these damn witches if I were lying. This may be a shocker to you but I don't like being used to get to someone else."

Caroline snorted at that. "Weren't you the one who not only used but also sold Tyler and the other hybrids out to Klaus?" Hayley glared and Caroline shrugged her shoulders. "It's not my fault that you don't like the truth."

"You should watch what you say, Caroline." Warned Hayley. "I'm not the one chained up here. What's to stop me from killing you right now?"

"We both know you won't kill me even if you wanted to or else you would have tried it instead of just saying it. We both know Klaus would kill you just like he did his hybrids." said Caroline confidently, she wasn't saying it to be smug though Hayley did tend to bring out the bitch in her. "But more importantly if I wasn't chained right now I could totally take you. Werewolf or not."

Hayley laughed derisively at that."Like how I snapped your neck that one time."

Caroline glared. "You got lucky."

Hayley snorted and Caroline sent her an angry glare.

"I can't believe Klaus actually slept with you." Caroline shook her head in disgust.

"He probably got tired waiting for you." retorted Hayley. "No one likes a tease, Caroline."

Caroline scoffed. "I thought he liked a challenge but apparently no, after all he did sleep with you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hayley glared.

"Exactly, what I said." said Caroline.

Hayley opened her mouth to retort when the door to the crypt opened and several witches walked in, the door closing behind them.

"Hey!" Caroline exclaimed recognizing one of the dark haired women. "You're one of the ones who kidnapped me."

"We did what we had to." Said the dark brunette.

"You got problems with Klaus? Fine." Said Caroline. "But I have nothing to do with it."

"But you do, you see." said the witch. "Klaus Mikaelson hasn't cared about anything but his family and himself in a thousand years and then you come along. The baby vampire that has captured the non-existent heart of the most fearsome supernatural creature to walk this earth for the last thousand years."

Caroline glared. "I can't be faulted for Klaus's feelings for me. I have no control over him."

"You have no idea how wrong you are." Said the brunette. "And that is why you are here."

"So let's say you are right." Said Caroline. "Do you really think no one will come looking for me?"

"We're counting on it." said the brunette witch. "It shouldn't be long now before Klaus starts looking into your disappearance if he isn't already and track you here, all we need you to do is do as you're told."

"If you think I'm going to do as you say just because you manage to take me hostage and chain me up you have another thing coming." said Caroline, refusing to back down.

"You are going to do as we say or something terrible might happen to your mother. The Sheriff of Mystic Falls, Matt Donovan, your human friend, Damon and Stefan, The Salvatore brothers, your friend Elena Gilbert or your witch friend Bonnie Bennett." The brunette threatened. "You have no shortage of people who you care about Caroline Forbes and we're not above doing what's necessary including taking everyone you love from you."

Caroline stared at the witch in disbelief unable to believe they were basically blackmailing her to cooperate or else they would target everyone she cared about.

"So you either cooperate with us by playing the hostage or your mother would be the first to go." Said the witch and with that they swept back out of the crypt.

Caroline stared after them, shock flowing through her, she knew she would do as they said, play the hostage, she couldn't allow anything to happen to her mother so until she could make sure that wasn't a possibility she would do what she had to if it meant keeping her mother safe.

* * *

Klaus and Stefan made record time and arrived in New Orleans, the streets were busy, bustling with tourist, a tour guide was giving a large group of tourist a tour around the most famous parts of the city. "Welcome to the dark side of New Orleans, a supernatural playground where the living are easily lost and the dead stick around to play."

Klaus grinned. He had always loved the city of New Orleans.

"How are we supposed to find Caroline in a city like this?" Stefan wondered beside him, he himself had been to New Orleans once and finding Caroline in a place like this would probably be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Klaus turned to him. "Leave that to me."

* * *

Klaus led Stefan through the city until he came upon a woman seated at a table with trinkets doing readings for tourists. He slid easily into the seat. "Good afternoon. Time for one more?"

Stefan stood behind him watching the woman, he could tell the woman was a witch just by looking at her and his assumption was only confirmed when she spoke.

"I have nothing to say to you." She said shortly, not at all welcoming to their presence.

"Oh, now, that's not very amiable, is it? You don't even know me." Klaus said, nonchalantly, completely at ease.

"I know who you are." She said knowingly. "Half-vampire, half-beast. You're the hybrid."

"I'm the original hybrid, actually, but that's a long story for another time." Klaus replied with a smirk.

The witch's eyes slid from him to Stefan. "And him?"

"Stefan Salvatore." Klaus told her as if Stefan wasn't standing there.

"The Ripper of Montreal." Said the witch, looking between the two with obvious disdain.

Stefan pursed his lips, not liking the reminder of his vampire indiscretions.

"I'm looking for someone." Klaus told her, drawing her focus back to him. "A witch. Perhaps you might be able to help me find her. Jane-Anne Deveraux."

"Sorry. I don't know." The witch replied.

"Well, now, that's a fib, isn't it? Now, you see... I know that you're a witch amongst this sea of poseurs. So, enough with the fabrications." Replied Klaus. "I've quite a temper."

Stefan barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes, instead he clenched his jaw. "Look, we don't have time for this. We need to find this witch now." Preferably before they do something horrible to Caroline. New Orleans witches weren't exactly known for their love of vampires. Quite the opposite actually.

"Witches don't talk outta school in the Quarter." The witch stated. "The vampire won't allow it. Those are the rules. I don't break Marcel's rules."

At the name, Klaus sat forward his falsely good mood disappearing as he leaned on the table. "Marcel's rules?" he repeated and Stefan looked at him noticing the change in him. "Where do you suppose I might find Marcel?"

* * *

"Do you think this Marcel might be able to help us find this Jane-Anne Deveraux?" Stefan asked as they walked the New Orleans streets heading toward the bar the witch told them they could find Marcel.

"The witch spoke about him as if he controlled all witch affairs." Pointed out Klaus. "And if he controls all with affairs there's a good chance he knows where we can find Jane-Anne Deveraux."

"He better." Stefan said. "For Caroline's sake."

"If the witch knows what's good for her Caroline will be in one piece when we find her." Klaus stated.

"And if she's not?" Stefan demanded.

Klaus stopped and turned to Stefan, leveling him with a cold stare, his jaw set. "Then we paint the town red, Ripper." His eyes flashed with malice and intent.

"Caroline wouldn't want innocent people hurt because of her." Said Stefan. He could see in Klaus's eyes that he would leave a trail of bloody entrails in his wake.

"If Caroline has a problem with how I get things done she can yell and rage all she wants once she's safe back home in Mystic Falls." Klaus told him pointedly. "And if you have a problem with getting your hands bloody you shouldn't have come."

"I came to get Caroline back not go on a killing spree." Stefan told him.

"You have to be willing to do what is necessary. I don't have any use for you otherwise." Klaus told him. "So either make yourself useful or go home."

Stefan glared. "I'm not leaving here without Caroline."

"Finally, something we can agree on." Said Klaus, continuing down the street.

They walked a couple more blocks before they reached their destination. They entered the bar, it was busy patrons seated at tables and at the bar and a dark skinned man on stage singing.

Klaus maneuvered through the bar, coming to a stop near the bartop, his eyes zeroed in on the man on stage.

"Do you think that's him?" Stefan asked as the man finished the song and jumped off the stage, heading toward the bar but stopped when he saw Klaus and moved toward him. "Klaus." The man said, face grim.

"Marcel." Klaus returned, stoned-face.

"Wait you two know each other?" Stefan asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "You didn't say you knew him." But he was ignored.

"Must be 100 years since that nasty business with your papa." Said Marcel.

"Has it been that long?" Klaus wondered.

"Way I recall it, he ran you out of town." Continued Marcel. "Left a trail of dead vampires in his wake."

"And yet how fortunate you managed to survive." Said Klaus. "My father, I'm afraid, I recently incinerated to dust."

Marcel showed no sign of surprise at the news. "Well, if I'd known you were coming back in town, if I had a heads up..."

"What, Marcel." Klaus demanded, stepping toward him, hostility flowing off him in waves. "What would you have done?"

"I'd have thrown you a damn parade." The hostile tension broke as Marcel grinned, pulling Klaus in for a hug, Niklaus matched his wide grin, accepting the hug. "Niklaus Mikaelson." Said Marcel, pulling back his hand gripping his shoulder. "My mentor, my savior, my sire. Let's get you a drink."

"Klaus, we don't have time for this." Said Stefan, after watching the two converse like old best friends.

Marcel glanced at Stefan. "Who's you're friend?"

"Stefan Salvatore." Said Klaus. "But don't mind him. He's wound a bit tight."

Marcel hummed before focusing his attention back on Klaus. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to be home." Klaus returned. "Although please tell me the current state of bourbon street is not your doing."

Marcel laughed good-naturedly. "Something's gotta draw in the out-of-towners; otherwise, we'd all go hungry."

"I see your friends are daywalkers." Klaus commented.

"Yeah, yeah, I shared the secret of your daylight ring with a few buddies." Said Marcel."Just the inner circle, though. The family."

Stefan wanted to scoff. He was pretty sure it wasn't Klaus's spell but he could care less about it at the moment, they were supposed to be finding Caroline but Klaus seemed more interested in catching up with Marcel than he was locating Caroline.

"Tell me. How did you find a witch willing to make daylight rings?" Klaus questioned.

"I got the witches here wrapped around my finger." Replied Marcel, half boasting.

"Is that so?" responded Klaus, seeing the opening he was waiting for. "I'm looking for a witch by the name of Jane-Anne Deveraux. Has some business with me."

"Looking for Jane-Anne?" said Marcel. "Then you probably ought to come with me." He laughed, turning to his boys that surrounded him. "Showtime!"

Marcel and Klaus had moved out to the streets, Stefan walked slightly behind Klaus, just glad to be done with the reunion so they could find the Deveraux witch. Crowds of vampires gathered, some leaping across roofs, moving around on the ground not at all trying to hide their vampire nature.

"How's the family?" wondered Marcel conversationally.

"Those who live hate me more than ever." Klaus told him. "Kinda like my friend here." He jabbed his thumb in Stefan's direction.

Marcel glanced back at Stefan. "What did he do to you?"

"I can only pick one thing? There's a long list to choose from." Stefan responded dryly causing Klaus to roll his eyes.

Marcel laughed. "If that's the case what are you doing here with him?"

"Common goal." Stefan answered shortly.

"Making enemies of not just your family but your friends as well." Mused Marcel, glancing at Klaus.

Klaus didn't respond, Marcel was pretty close with that assumption.

"Forget them." Marcel told him referring to Klaus's siblings. "If your blood relations let you down, you make your own, huh? You taught me that. And what's mine is yours, as always. Even my nightwalkers, the riff-raff."

The aforementioned vampires were being rowdy in the streets, leaping across buildings and off them, vamp speeding on the streets, doing absolutely nothing to hide their vampire nature.

"They're hardly subtle, are they?" Klaus commented.

"It's the Quarter." Grinned Marcel. "Ain't no such thing as subtle, baby."

Several of Marcel's vampires appeared dragging a brunette haired woman between them as she struggled in their hold.

"Jane-Anne Deveraux." Said Marcel addressing the witch,gaining both Klaus and Stefan's attention. Stefan and Klaus shared a look, this was the witch they were looking for. "Give it up for Jane-Anne. Come on. Jane-Anne Deveraux, you have been accused of the practice of witchcraft beyond the bounds of the rules set and enforced by me. How do you plead?" he turned back to Klaus and Stefan with a conspiratorial grin breaking out of the serious lawyer like character he was portraying. "Oh. Was that convincing? I studied law back in the fifties. It's all I know." He turned back to the witch, growing serious once again. "Seriously, J, tick tock. You know the drill. How do you plead?"

"I didn't do anything." Denied Jane-Anne.

"I'll tell you what." Began Marcel. "I'll give you one more chance. Or not." He eruptly killed her, the witch dropping lifeless to the ground.

"What was that?" Klaus demanded as Stefan stared down at the lifeless witch, their only lead on Caroline.

"Hey. Come walk with me." Marcel responded. "Witches aren't allowed to do magic here. She broke the rules."

"I told you I wanted to talk to her." Klaus glared angrily.

Stefan moved toward them wondering how they were supposed to find Caroline now. "What are we supposed to do now?" he asked Klaus, ignoring Marcel's presence.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I got caught up in the show." Marcel apologized. "Those witches, they think that they still have power in this town. I have to show them that they don't. I never waste an opportunity for a show of force. Another lesson that I learned from you. And besides, anything that you could've gotten out of her, I can find out for you, and I will. I promise."

Klaus didn't want Marcel knowing anything about Caroline. He didn't trust him with the knowledge of knowing what Caroline meant to him. "Well, whatever it was, doesn't matter anymore, does it?"

"Good." Said Marcel. "Then let's eat, because all that spilled blood makes me hungry." He took his leave, his vampires following.

Stefan looked at Klaus in shock. "Klaus, how are we supposed to find Caroline now?"

Klaus clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I said we were going to find Caroline and I meant it. Just let me do what I do and stop questioning my every move?"

"Well, forgive me if I don't find it very appealing putting my trust in you." Stefan muttered dryly.

Klaus glared at him. "The only thing you need to trust in is that I will do whatever I have to to find Caroline." He turned away from him, grabbing one of Marcel's vampires as he went to walk by him. "Hey. Thierry, isn't it? Any more Deveraux witches where she came from?"

* * *

After finding out Jane-Anne had a sister by the name of Sophie Deveraux, working at a bar that served gumbo, found Stefan and Klaus entering the establishment. They found her and as if sensing them behind her she turned, she didn't seem surprised, she looked between the two before her eyes settled on Klaus. "You're Klaus."

"I am." Said Klaus, taking her in, noticing her eyes were red and puffy. She had obviously been crying. "And you're upset. Sophie, isn't it? I assume this is because of what I just witnessed with your sister on the corner of Royal and St. Ann."

Stefan doubted the girl needed a reminder. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Sophie looked at him in surprise but said nothing.

"You'll have to excuse, Stefan, here, he has a bleeding heart." Said Klaus, wanting to bypass any condolences.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Sophie asked bitterly.

"It was a little melodramatic for my tastes." said Klaus. "What did your sister want with me? Why did Marcel kill her?"

"I see you brought friends." Said Sophie looking past them to two men at the bar attempting to discreetly keep an eye on Klaus.

"They're not with me." Denied Klaus.

"Marcel must have had them follow us." Said Stefan.

"Smart." Sophie said to Stefan. "They are with Marcel. That's all that matters." She told them. "I know you built this town Klaus, but this is his town now. He killed my sister because she broke the rules. So, I talk to you in front of them, I'm next."

Klaus glared and moved toward the men at the bar but Stefan remained in front of the witch. "I understand you can't talk to Klaus. But I hope you can talk to me. I came here looking for your sister because a good friend of mine went missing and your sister knew something about it." Stefan looked at her with a pleading look. "Her name's Caroline, if you know anything please tell me."

"I can't talk to you either." The witch said, unmoved. "Your with Klaus."

Stefan opened his mouth to argue with her but she was already walking away, he turned to see Klaus with the two men at the bar a strong painful grip on each of their shoulders as he rejoined them. "Are you two gentlemen following me?" Klaus questioned.

"Marcel said we're your guides." One of them answered, through clenched teeth as he fought to cry out from the amount of pain the hybrid was causing as he applied pressure to his shoulder.

"Oh, he did, did he? Well, then, let me be exceedingly clear about something." Klaus squeezed each of their shoulders tightly, causing flickers of pain to cross their expressions. "If either of you follow me again, you'll do so without the benefit of a spine."

"Sorry for the wait." The waitress at the bar said, as she rejoined them. "If you're here for the gumbo, I'm about to break your heart. We just ran out."

"Your oldest scotch for my two friends here, love." Klaus told the blonde, slapping a hundred dollar bill on the bar top. "If Marcel wants to know what I'm up to, he can ask me himself." He looked to Stefan nodding to the exit.

"Don't you find it a bit suspicious that Marcel is keeping tabs on you?" asked Stefan once outside.

"It's about control. He wants to know and control everything." replied Klaus. "What did you get out of Sophie?"

"Nothing." Stefan frowned. "But I could tell she knows something but she's not going to tell us anything not when she's too scared to talk about it because of her obvious fear of Marcel."

* * *

Caroline was restless, the witches had returned and grabbed Hayley before leaving again, she didn't know if that was a good sign or bad sign.

She tensed when the door opened again but instead of the witches returning with Hayley, Elijah Mikaelson was the one to walk her back into the crypt.

"Miss Forbes?" Elijah said in surprise, he had come to New Orleans to find out what the witches had over his brother only to find a werewolf girl that the witches were claiming was pregnant with Niklaus's child. Finding the blonde from Mystic Falls there as well was a surprise, the Forbes girl was a long way from home. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, just thought it'll be fun to be hangin' out in a crypt while chain to a wall." She deadpanned, she was in no mood to be polite. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing here?"

"She's Klaus bait." Said Hayley. "The witches back-up plan or something like that."

"Once this is over I'm so done with that." Caroline muttered. "I'm done being bait."

Elijah looked between the two girls. "So you both have a connection to my brother?"

"Something like that." Caroline said bitterly.

"So, have they been holding you against your will, like Miss Forbes here?" Elijah asked Hayley, taking note of the chains shackling Caroline to the wall.

"They lured me out to the bayou and grabbed me. And they did all these... weird witchy test." Said Hayley. "Not that I understand how this could happen. I mean, vampires are dead. They can't have children!"

"Perhaps if you knew my brother's story, it might explain how this is possible. Here, if I may." Elijah lifted a hand toward her face but she moved away.

"What are you doing?" Hayley asked alarmed.

"Relax." Elijah assured her. "If you open your mind to me, I can show you." He reached his hand out toward her again and this time Hayley allowed it, Elijah pressed his hand to her head and they both closed their eyes.

Caroline watched the two through narrowed eyes, they seemed to forgotten she was even there. She didn't think now was the time for storytelling. She tuned them out, wishing she was home, wondering if anyone's noticed that she was missing. She hoped her mother was safe.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Hayley. "Your dad was a dick."

Elijah chuckled.

"I'm Hayley, by the way. You should probably know my name if you're gonna tell me you're whole life story." said Hayley. "I mean, I know yours. Your family is legendary. Your brother is notorious psycho... who I slept with. Classic me."

"I cannot excuse his behavior, but you must understand, when our father haunted him - hunted us - for centuries, every time we found a moment of happiness, we were forced to flee. Even here, in New Orleans, where we were happiest of all. Not long after Niklaus broke the spell which prevented him from becoming a hybrid, he defeated our father. I thought this would make him happy." Elijah shook his head. "He was angrier than ever. I wonder if perhaps this baby might be a way for my brother to find happiness. A way to save him from himself."

"If that's the case maybe you could convince those crazy witches to let me go." Said Caroline, Elijah sounded so confident that Hayley and her so called baby with Klaus was the key to everything and if that was the case what did they need her for.

Elijah turned to look at her. "Pardon me, but I'm confused as to why the witches brought you here? Is there a reason the witches thought you could be used against my brother? Perhaps they believe you important to my brother."

"No." said Caroline instantly. "Their delusional." Caroline had thought she was important to him but finding out that he slept with Hayley had made her unsure. Even made her question the last couple weeks of all the time she had spent with Klaus.

Hayley scoffed. "Klaus is in love with you."

Caroline glowered at her. "Clearly not. He slept with you."

"Wait." Said Elijah eyes widening, looking between the two women. "My brother, who believes love to be a vampire's greatest weakness is in love with you - a baby vampire?"

The way he said that like the very thought of Klaus loving her was so unthinkable made Caroline bristle but she chose to ignore it. "He's not in love with me." She said firmly.

"You're just saying that because you're angry that he wasn't waiting around for you." Said Hayley snidely. "Did you expect him to wait around for you forever?"

"Definitely didn't expect him to sleep with you." Caroline glared.

"So is Niklaus in love with you or not?" asked Elijah in confusion.

"He is." Hayley said at the same time Caroline said "He's not."

Elijah moved away from Hayley and closer to Caroline crouching down to be eye level with her, Caroline instinctively wanted to move back in surprise but refused to show any intimidation, she dealt with Klaus regularly dealing with the Original Elena like to claim as a good one should be no problem.

"I'm finding it difficult to believe my brother is in love with you." The refined Original stated looking at her like she was a difficult puzzle he wanted to solve.

"Should I be offended by that?" Caroline glared at him. "I feel like I should be offended by that."

"I meant no offense Miss Forbes." Elijah assured.

Caroline just looked at him doubtfully. "Do you mind getting back some or do you just like getting in someone's personal space?"

"It's needed for what I'm about to do." answered Elijah.

"What's that?" asked Hayley curiously.

Elijah glanced back at her over his shoulder. "While I can show memories like I did with you just moments ago I can also dive into a person's mine and see their memories."

Caroline eyes widened and she tensed instantly. "If you think I'm just going to let you mess around in my head you have another thing coming. I don't care if you are an Original!" said Caroline vehemently.

Elijah turned back to her his hands reaching out before Caroline could react gripping her head. "I'm sorry but you don't have much of a choice in the matter."

Caroline's eyes shut tightly at the feel of him probing his way into her head, invading her mind.

Elijah's closed his eyes as he sorted through her memories searching for moments she shared with his brother, he expected only a few but was hit with one after the other of Niklaus with Miss Forbes.

* * *

Elijah was surprised that his brother cured the girl let alone allowed her to drink directly from his vein. How he spoke to her about the world and genuine beauty and how she could have all of it. And the diamond bracelet he gifted her with.

The next memory he saw was of Miss Forbes receiving an extravagant blue ball gown dress along with an invitation to his family's ball that they had held in Mystic Falls and a request that she save his brother a dance. He watched as they danced as they talked outside next to horses and Klaus telling her that she was strong and beautiful and full of light that he enjoyed her, even telling her about his favorite horse that Mikael had killed. He watched as Klaus showed Caroline his art room, offered to show her the world, told her she was more beautiful than the princess whose bracelet he gave her but Caroline didn't fall for his charms, no she called him out on his hybrids, about how Mikael didn't love him and because of that he assumed no one else would either. She pointed out that's why he compelled people, sired them or tried to buy them off, that he didn't connect to people, didn't even try to.

Elijah watched as she gave the bracelet back, he was more than a little surprised that Klaus hadn't killed her for the way she spoke to him. He had killed many over the years for a lot less.

He was then surprised by the drawing Niklaus drew for Caroline, thanking her for her honesty.

He watched Klaus followed her from the Grill and they talked on a bench, Klaus asking about her hopes, dreams and everything she wanted in life.

He watched as they danced again at some kind of school dance, watched as his brother told her that a small town life wouldn't be enough for her that in a year or a century would find her at his door.

He watched in more surprise as his brother saved her from Alaric.

The more memories he saw the deeper he could see the connection his brother felt to Caroline ran deep. And was becoming quite apparent that he cared deeply for the girl.

He watched as his brother saved her again when he was in Tyler's body, even over Rebekah.

He saw his brother expressed that he would never have let Tyler hurt her if he was still sired to him.

He watched as his brother manage to negotiate a date out of Caroline. He watched his brother laugh freely with her, light, teasing and playful, a side of his brother he hadn't seen in centuries. How he opened up to her about the one and only time he ever thought about being human again.

And then he watched Caroline exchange harsh words with his brother shortly after Kol's death and he reacted in a very Klaus like manner, lashing out and impaling her with a broken wooden lamp-stand and then giving her his lethal bite.

He watched as his brother had refused to heal her because of Tyler. watched as Caroline had slowly began to slip away the bite slowly getting the better of her. Caroline and his brother exchanging words with Caroline telling him he did this because he was hurt which meant that there was a part of him that was still human. And Klaus couldn't understand how she could possibly believe that. Which had Caroline admitting that she had seen it and found herself wishing she could forget about all the horrible things he had done.

Elijah could see in his brother's eyes the reluctance to hope that she would be able to, going so far as to ask her that she couldn't and that was when Caroline claimed she knew he was in love with her and that anyone capable of love was capable of being saved.

He watched as his brother had exhaled shakily unable to look her in the eye unable to hide the emotions clearly visible in that moment as he told her she was hallucinating but not truly denying it.

And when Caroline had replied that she would never know and was breathing more weakly, gasping for breath, he saw the fear in his brother's eye when he called out to her and that fear only increased when he received no response, Elijah saw his brother wrestle internally with himself before conceding moving behind Caroline and leaning her back against his chest as he bit into his wrist and placed it to her mouth, stroking her hair tenderly as she drank.

And Elijah knew then in the small comforting gesture, the lack of composure unable to hide his emotions, the way his brother just couldn't let her die. Elijah knew Niklaus was in love with Caroline Forbes.

Seeing how deeply his brother felt for the Forbes girl just made Elijah want to know more about that connection. The next memory he saw was of Niklaus and Caroline on her porch and his brother was telling her he'd shown kindness, forgiveness, pity.. Because of her. That it was all for her. And Caroline had remained unmoved, silent.

Caroline tried to block the pain out from someone poking around in her head and concentrated and focus as hard as she could trying to shut him out of her mind like Klaus and her had been working on for the last couple weeks.

When she felt the pain all but disappear she felt relief wash over her briefly but it faded when she opened her eyes to see him staring at her in surprise, his hands dropping away from her head. That relief she felt quickly turned to ire as she glared at him affronted.

"How were you able to shut me out from your mind?" inquired Elijah in surprise. "Being as young as you are you shouldn't be able to."

"I don't see how it's any of your business. Stay the hell out of my head!" she replied angrily.

"No matter. I seen quite enough." said Elijah.

Caroline wasn't sure she liked the way that sounded. Just how much did Elijah see and what exactly did he see and what conclusion did it bring the carefully calculated Original to?

"I thought that this baby would be the only way to save my brother, and maybe it can but maybe it's not the only way to save him." said Elijah staring steadily at Caroline. "Perhaps you will also be the salvation my brother needs to save him from himself."

Caroline gave him a skeptical look barely refraining from voicing her doubts for she was no one's salvation. Elijah was speaking like she could be Klaus's savior and Caroline Forbes was no one's savior. Least of all Klaus's. No, she was indeed no one's let alone Klaus's salvation.

 **A/N:** **There's a lot of canon that I don't like so I might veer off canon in the middle of season one. I'm thinking about it anyway.**

 **On another side note i have this written up all the way up to chapter 14 so i'll be updating once a week until we get there.**


	7. Chapter 7

Caroline resisted the urge to shift under Elijah's gaze, feeling the weight of his assumption of her being this big key to redeeming Klaus. When the witch Sophie returned she let out a relieved sigh as Elijah's focus was pulled from her and to the witch instead.

"I'm glad you feel that way, because we need your help." Sophie informed Elijah.

"What, precisely, is it that you want and what does it have to do with either of these two young women?"

"We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town. Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus. Marcel trusts him, looks up to him, and he won't see the betrayal coming." Sophie's words were filled with certainty.

"Yes, well, as I'm sure you're aware, my brother Niklaus doesn't like to be told what to do." Replied Elijah.

"That's why I brought you here." Said Sophie. "Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. Do you really think he's going to welcome a hybrid baby to the neighborhood? Convince Klaus to help us, and no one has to know about the newest member of the Original family and if that fails to convince him then that's where Caroline comes in. Regardless of whether he'll care about his child or not he cares for her. And I have no doubts he'll do what he has to to keep her safe. It'll be a shame if her immortal vampire life was cut short."

"That sounds remarkably like blackmail." Said Elijah evenly.

"Like I said, I'm desperate." Sophie said, her jaw set defiantly.

"Well, then, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?"

Caroline hated how they were discussing her like she wasn't there but she was starting to think Sophie was crazy. For one she kidnapped her and was threatening her family and was threatening Hayley and her unborn child and she seemed to have no problem with blackmailing an Original to get what she wanted.

* * *

Klaus and Stefan walked into the party, there were vampires everywhere feeding and dancing and drinking. Klaus scanned the place, searching for Marcel. Stefan was a few feet behind, trying not to focus on the craze haze of the vampires or the feeding or the blood.

Klaus grabbed a vampire he recognized as one of Marcel's men. "Where's Marcel?" He demanded.

"Who the hell's asking?"

Klaus glared. "I assume you're joking."

"I only answer to Marcel." The vampire replied defiantly.

"Well, then, in that case, perhaps you'll answer to this." Klaus allowed his face to change, exposing his hybrid features and wrapped his hand around the vampire's throat threateningly. "You're aware the bite of a werewolf can kill a vampire? Well, as you can see, I'm half-werewolf, so I'm gonna ask you one more time!" Anger rolled off him in waves as he demanded again. "Where is Marcel?!"

"H-hey. I'm right here. I'm right here." Marcel emerged from the crowd of party goers and maneuvered himself in between Klaus and the other vampire Klaus had previously been threatening. "Easy, now. Diego's just looking out for me. Nobody harms my guys. Those are the rules."

Stefan nearly groaned at those words, telling Klaus to not do something was usually a guarantee he was going to do the exact opposite. It was only a matter of time, like a clock ticking down the hours, minutes, seconds until it happened.

"I don't care about your rules, Marcel." Klaus glared. "I don't need chaperones. Why are you having me followed?"

"Come here. I get it, huh? Show of force." Said Marcel and attempted to get Klaus to back off from Diego. "You made your point. Let it go, friend. For me."

"Fine."Klaus grudgingly backed off his face having returned back to normal. "Why don't you show me what you've done with the place while you explain exactly what it is you've been up to in my town."

"Follow me." Said Marcel, leading Klaus further through the crowd.

Stefan felt his ire rising, partly because he was feeling on edge in the crowd of impulsive reckless vampires and partly because he felt like they were no closer to finding Caroline and were continuingly going in circles in the process of trying to find her.

Marcel had led Klaus out onto a balcony, Stefan stood back against the wall as the two stared out at the city, hands on the railing.

"Look at that skyline." Said Marcel, gesturing to all the buildings and high structures, lighting up the night sky. "That there, that's progress. More hotels, more tourists, more fresh blood. And the humans? I taught them to look the other way."

"And what of the witches?" Asked Klaus, hoping to glean some information on them in hopes something might clue him in on Caroline's whereabouts. "In my time, they were a force to be reckoned with, and now they live in fear. How do you know when they're using magic?"

"Maybe I got a secret weapon, an ace up my sleeve, something that gives me complete control over all the magic in this town." Said Marcel with a smirk, eyes glinting.

"Hmm. Is that a fact?" Asked Klaus.

"Might be." Replied Marcel. "Or maybe I'm just bluffing." He popped something into his mouth from his hand, eating whatever it was.

Klaus smelled the familiar toxic herb or toxic to vampires herb anyway. "You take vervain?"

"Burns like a bitch. But I figure I should limit the number of things I'm vulnerable to." Said Marcel in response to Klaus's question. "Don't be mad about that chaperone thing. I told my guys to look out for you, that's all. That's what we do here... Look out for each other."

They watched the street below and saw a blonde woman walking alone. "Mmmmm. New blood." Grinned Marcel.

"The bartender walking alone at night." Klaus remembered her from the bar that he visited the Devaraux witch. "She's either brave or dumb."

"Let's see." Said Marcel. "Brave, I let her live, dumb, she's dessert." Marcel jumped over the balcony, landing silently just behind the blonde. "You know, it's not safe here alone."

The girl turned to face him. "You know, I have a black belt in karate."

"What are we doing?" Stefan asked Klaus, he felt like they were getting nowhere fast in finding Caroline.

Instead of answering him he watched Marcel and the blonde below until he felt a familiar presence. "Evening, Elijah."

Stefan turned in surprised to see Elijah.

Elijah looked at Stefan for a moment. He was pretty sure he knew why he was here. That he most likely came in search of Caroline. It was the only thing that could explain why he was with his brother. Elijah turned his attention back to his brother. "Niklaus."

"What an entirely unwelcome surprise." Klaus commented.

"And what an entirely unsurprising welcome." Returned Elijah. "Come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere. Not until I find Caroline and who's conspiring g against me." Klaus stated, there was no way he was going anywhere until he found Caroline.

"I believe i just found that out for you." Said Elijah. "And where Miss Forbes is."

Klaus turned sharply to his brother. "Where is she?"

Stefan had pushed off the wall at the mention of Caroline. "Have you seen her?"

Elijah glanced at Stefan shortly before focusing his attention on his brother, how his reaction was instantaneous the moment he mentioned anything about Caroline. How that was what Klaus had latched onto of what he said , not that he had found who was conspiring against him but of Caroline, wanting to know her whereabouts. "I have to admit Niklaus I was surprised to learn how deep your connection to Caroline Forbes went."

"Where is she?!" Klaus growled advancing on his brother. "Tell me where she is Elijah!"

If he hadn't saw inside Caroline's head and seen the moments she shared with his brother he would have been surprised by the intensity of his brothers reaction. "I'll take you to her. You just have to come with me."

There was no hesitation in Klaus's steps when Elijah began to lead the way out of there and Stefan quickly followed.

* * *

"What are we doing here?" Klaus asked in irritation as they moved through the cemetery Elijah had led them to. "Is this where Caroline is being held?"

"What to know what the witches have in store for you?" Asked Elijah. "Follow me."

Klaus steps stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowly in displeasure. "You said you were taking me to Caroline, Elijah."

Elijah stopped, turning to face his brother, seeing the anger, frustration and distrust written plainly across his face. "Is finding her more important than finding out whose currently working against you?"

Klaus stepped further getting in Elijah's face, wanting to make himself clear. "Caroline is the reason why I am here. Finding her and making sure she is safe is the only thing that matters right now."

"Very well." Said Elijah. "Then follow me."

Stefan watched Elijah, it seemed to him like Elijah was more intent on deciphering Klaus's every reaction. He didn't really care why only hoped that Elijah wasn't just jerking them around and really was leading them to Caroline. Stefan fell in step behind them as Elijah singled out a crypt.

They entered the crypt and Sophie Devaraux was there with two other witches waiting. But Klaus didn't have eyes for any of them. But only for the blonde he could see shackled to the wall, familiar blue eyes staring back at him. "Caroline?" He breathed and was crouching in front of her instantly, uncaring that his back was to three witches, all that matter was that Caroline was right in front of him.

"Finally." Caroline said impatiently. "I was wondering when you'd get here?"

"Sorry, to keep you waiting, Love." He brushed her hair back.

"Caroline?" Stefan rushed to her side. "Are you alright?"

Caroline looked at Stefan in surprise. "Stefan? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Stefan frowned. "You're mother's worried sick about you, I barely talked her out of coming here herself."

"But she's okay, isn't she?" Caroline worried. "She's safe?"

Stefan's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why wouldn't she be? You're the one we need to be worried about."

"No, I'm fine." Caroline shook her head. "but there's witches watching all of you, threatening, especially my mom."

"I think you're definition of fine differs from mine, sweetheart." Klaus cut in, his hand reached out, fingers grasping her wrist, overlapping the shackles that kept her chain to the wall, bringing Caroline's eyes back to him. "Why haven't you tried to break free?"

Caroline gave a shake of her head."I tried but couldn't."

Klaus nodded, and pulled on the shackles, attempting to break the locks but failing. He growled in annoyance, his face morphing as he applied more strength.

"I don't think you'll be able to break them." Caroline told him discouraged.

"I won't have you being trained to a wall like a dog!" Klaus growled, eyes locking with hers.

Caroline stared back at his hybrid eyes unflinchingly. "I wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you."

"What are you talking about?" Klaus looked at her in confusion, seeing the familiar hostility in her eyes that he hadn't seen in weeks. Not since before they gotten closer as actual friends. And he couldn't help but wonder, what could have put that look back in her eyes.

"I'm sure you'll be finding out soon enough." Caroline muttered.

Stefan looked back and forth between the two, feeling like he was missing something, surprised at the ease at which Caroline interacted with Klaus when confronted with Klaus's hybrid side. He shook his head to clear his thoughts focusing on Klaus. "Can you break those or not, Klaus?"

Klaus didn't bother answering vocally, he kept his gaze on Caroline as he applied more strength to the shackles, the metal snapping making a clanging noise as they did so, the chain falling from her wrist landing on the ground with a clatter, he did the same with her other wrist, freeing her from the chains not once breaking eye contact.

Caroline felt relief hit her being free of the chains but pushed it down reluctant to feel any sense of gratitude towards Klaus at the moment. She attempted to stand up but stumbled a little from sitting too long due to her being chained to the wall for God knows how long, she felt Klaus hands wrap around her arms in an attempt to steady her but she quickly shrugged his hands off her with a glare. "I don't need your help."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Stefan asked in concern, she seemed to be angry with Klaus which was completely understandable since the reason why she was even here was because of Klaus but it almost seemed like something else.

Klaus didn't know why Caroline seemed to be angry with him but he figured it could wait until he dealt with his witch problem now that he knew she was safe. He turned toward the witch in question. And saw both her and Elijah watching him with interest, he ignored the obvious curiosity in Elijah's eyes about his interaction with Caroline and focused on the witch instead. "Sophie Devaraux." He recognized her as the witch he talked with earlier. "What is this?"

"He's all yours." Elijah told Sophie. "Proceed."

"You know you're famous in this town?" Sophie began. "Witches tell bedtime stories about the powerful vampire Klaus. We know Marcel was nothing but an orphaned street rat until you made him what he is. And now he's out of control. He does what he wants. I'm gonna stop him... And you're gonna help me."

"This is why you kidnapped Caroline?" Asked Klaus his eyes narrowing.

"Witches talk." Said Sophie. "We know how much you care for her."

"Then you should know I won't hesitate in punishing you for attempting to use her against me." Klaus growled stepping forward.

"Wait." Elijah moved, quickly placing a hand on Klaus's chest to stop him from advancing any closer to Sophie, seeing the dangerous look in his brothers eyes despite the fact that he reverted back to normal. "Hear her out."

"I don't need to hear her out. They took Caroline and kept her chain to a wall like an animal!" He growled, brushing his brother hand off of him, his angry gaze settling on Sophie. "There is nothing she could say that will stop me from showing her what happens when you go after Caroline and I won't waste anymore of my time."

"This isn't a waste of your time, brother." Argued Elijah.

The crypt door opened and Haley was escorted in by two more witches.

Klaus stared at her in confusion. "Why in the bloody hell is she here?" He demanded. It wasn't like Hayley was anything to him, her presence didn't make sense. Especially when they had already gotten their hands on Caroline, someone who he would tear apart the city for if he had to.

"Klaus... You need to listen to them." Hayley told them, voice grave.

Klaus laughed incredulously before turning to Caroline. "This is why you're angry with me? Because of her?"

Caroline glared in response, crossing her arms across her chest.

Klaus shook his head and chuckled derisively. "You're all out of your minds if you think some liquor-fueled one night-stand..." he waved his arm in Hayley's direction. "No offense, sweetheart... Means anything to me."

"I'm very aware of that and that is why Caroline is here but Hayley has a purpose for being here." Sophie said, standing straighter her face set in determination. "Marcel may be able to keep us from practicing real magic in this town but as keepers of the balance, we still know when nature has cooked up something new. For example, I have a special gift of sensing when a girl is pregnant."

"What?" Klaus said, sure the witch wasn't implying what it sounded like she was implying.

"I know. It's impossible." Said Hayley.

"What are you saying?"asked Klaus.

"Niklaus..." Elijah said, voice strong and unwavering. "The girl is carrying your child."

"No. It's impossible." Klaus shook his head in denial. "Vampires cannot procreate."

"But werewolves can." Sophie cut in. "Magic made you a vampire but you were born a werewolf. You're the original hybrid, the first of your kind and this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes."

"You've been with someone else." Klaus growled at Hayley because there was no way any of this was true. It couldn't be nor did he want it. "Admit it!"

"Hey. I spent days held captive in a freakin' alligator bayou because they think that I'm carry some magical baby." Hayley snapped back at him. "Don't you think I would have fessed up if it wasn't yours?"

Caroline couldn't help the snort that escaped her. Klaus sounded like all those men who came on the Maury show denying that he was the baby daddy and Hayley sounded like one of the mother's swearing up and down that it was their baby.

Stefan shot her a look wondering if she lost it because he didn't see anything funny about this situation, let alone that Caroline was caught up in this mess.

Caroline just shrugged his look off. If she didn't find some kind of amusement that Klaus and Hayley of all people were going to have a baby together she might just lose it. She hated that Klaus slept with Hayley and she hated that she even cared who he slept with. So she rather find amusement in the situation than dwell on why it bothered her so much.

"My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy." Said Sophie passionately. "Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Hayley won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress."

"Wait, what?" Hayley didn't like the sound of that.

"Enough of this. If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it." Said Elijah, not wanting the baby or it's mother to come to any harm.

"No. We can't, not yet." Sophie refused. "We have a clear plan that we need to follow and there are rules."

Elijah looked to his brother, awaiting his reaction, his answer, hoping his brother would make the right choice but doubting that he would. Niklaus rarely did the right thing unless he benefitted from it in some way.

"How dare you command me, threaten me, with what a baby? Something you wrongfully perceive to be my weakness."

"We know exactly what your weakness is." Glared Sophie. "Why else do you think Caroline is here?"

"Leave Caroline out of this!" Snapped Klaus angrily. "She has nothing to do with this."

"Then maybe she shouldn't have gotten so entangled with you." Retaliated Sophie. "And like it or not she's apart of this now. And if you don't do exactly as we want Caroline's vampire life will meet a premature end before the week's end."

Caroline bristled at the threat to her life and she felt Stefan tense beside her but their reaction was tiny in comparison to Klaus's.

An animalistic growl escaped his chest followed by a loud thud and a cry of pain as Sophie was slammed into the crypt wall, Klaus's hand wrapped securely around her throat, hybrid features flashing menacingly. "I will not have you threatening her life."

"Niklaus.." Elijah said warningly, surprised how quickly Klaus's anger rose at the mere threat to Caroline's life.

"Stefan, mate." Klaus said without breaking his hated glare on Sophie. "Take Caroline and go. Get her out of here and don't leave her side until I tell you to because if anything happens to her I will hold you personally responsible."

Stefan nodded, swallowing. He hadn't heard Klaus that angry since that time when he took Klaus's coffins. "C'mon." He placed his hand on Caroline's back, giving her a nudge forward.

Caroline stumbled forward, past Elijah and Hayley, past the witches, Sophie and Klaus but hesitated glancing back at Klaus. She was angry with him, yes but it felt wrong to just leave.

Klaus felt her eyes on him and finally tore his glare away from Sophie to look at Caroline. "Get out of here, Love. We'll talk once I have this all sorted out."

"What about the threat to my mom?" Caroline hesitated.

"I'll take care of it. No harm will come to your mother." he promised. "Now go."

Caroline still hesitated until Stefan grabbed her arm and walked her out of the crypt and broke them out into a run as they vamp-sped out of the cemetery.

Once she disappeared out the crypt Klaus turned his hybrid gaze back to Sophie, his hand flexing around her neck. "Threatening Caroline trying to get what you want from me was a stupid move. I should rip your heart out on principle and shove it down your throat!" His tone dark and gritty.

Sophie felt a sliver of fear course through her veins, she could hear the intent but even worse she could see it, monstrous hybrid features staring back at her that he meant every word. She reluctantly admitted to herself that she might have underestimated his rationality concerning the baby vampire, Caroline Forbes, she clearly meant more to him than even the witch spirits had led on.

"Let her go!" One of the other witches exclaimed.

Klaus smirked darkly at Sophie. "I think a demonstration is in order." He pushed Sophie against the wall causing her to grunt as her back slammed against it, releasing a moment later and in a blur of movement he was in front of the other witch who had spoken and with no hesitation plunge his hand into her chest, fingers curling tightly around her heart, squeezing maliciously, the witch gasped in pain, blood building up in her throat, clogging it up and escaping out at the edges of her mouth. Klaus gave a violent twist of his hand and yanked the witch's heart out.

A sharp intake of breath sounded from Hayley at the same time Elijah exclaimed in disapproval. "Niklaus!"

Klaus turned back to a stunned Sophie and a disapproving Elijah, he tossed the witches heart at Sophie's feet, hand covered in blood. "Take this as a warning Sophie Devaraux because if you go after Caroline again it will be your heart on the ground at my feet, my hand drenched in your blood." He glanced at Hayley. "And as for Hayley. Kill her and the baby. What do I care?" He turned on his heel, taking off not waiting around to see how they would react to his actions.

Sophie pushed off the wall, staring down at the heart at her feet with a grimace before stumbling toward the body of her fallen witch sister. She stared down at her jaw clenching, anger rising.

If Klaus thought this was over he was wrong. If he thought she didn't make precautions he was wrong. And he was wrong if he thought Caroline's involvement in this was over. He couldn't be more wrong. She made sure Caroline would be so entangled in this that there would be no leaving New Orleans for her. But more importantly if the baby died so did Caroline. He would have no choice but to do as she wanted or risk losing Caroline something she was more sure than ever that he would not risk.

No, this wasn't over. Not even close. She would get what she wanted. Klaus would do as she wanted, she would make sure of it.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: i apologize for any mistakes. And I own nothing but my own twists to the story.**

* * *

Klaus walked quickly through the streets of New Orleans, he could hear Elijah's quick footsteps as he rushed to catch up with him. "It's a trick, Elijah." he bit out harshly.

"Niklaus." Elijah's voice sounded as he caught up to him.

"It's a trick, Elijah." Klaus repeated finally stopping.

"No, brother. It's a gift. It's your chance..it's our chance." Elijah implored.

"To what?" Klaus snapped out impatiently, what did he care for Hayley or the child she claimed he fathered.

"To start over. Take back everything we lost, everything that was taken from us." said Elijah trying to convince Klaus that Hayley and her child was a good thing. "Niklaus, our own parents came to despise us. Our family was ruined..we were ruined. And since then, all that you have ever wanted..all that we have ever wanted was a family."

"I will not be manipulated." Klaus said adamantly, turning away from him but Elijah wasn't done, he vamp-sped in front of Klaus's path blocking him.

"So they're manipulating you." said Elijah. "So what? With them, this girl and her child..your child..live."

"And then what? You returned to Mystic Falls to Caroline, to your life as the hated one, as the evil hybrid? Is it so important to you that people quake with fear at the sound of your name?" Elijah questioned.

"Caroline isn't any of your concern." Klaus glared. "People quake with fear because I have the power to make them afraid. What will this child offer me? Will it guarantee me power?"

"Family is power, Niklaus. Love, loyalty..that's power." Elijah spoke passionately, trying his hardest to change Klaus's mind to convince him of what he believed so strongly. "This is what we swore to one another a thousand years ago, before life tore away what little humanity you had left, before ego, before anger, before paranoia created in this person before me someone I can barely even recognize as my own brother. This is us, the Original family and we remain together, always and forever. I am asking you to stay here. I will help you and I will stand by you. I will be your brother. We will build a home here together. So save this girl. Save your child." ELijah reached out placing his hand on Klaus's shoulder, pleading with him to just hear and listen to him for once.

Klaus reached his own hand to Elijah's neck in a brotherly gesture before he whispered nothing more than a spiteful hiss. "No." He brushed Elijah's hand off his shoulder and turned to walk away.

Elijah wasn't ready to let him just walk away, he gripped Klaus's shoulder and forced him to turn around and face him again, not pleased with the action Klaus shoved him away, causing Elijah to stumble back a few steps. "I'm done talking of this, Elijah." Klaus glared with agitation.

"You can can save Miss Forbes but you can't save your own child, is that it?" Elijah asked with narrow eyes.

"Yes that is exactly it." Klaus glared.

"If you can find it in yourself to save Caroline when she didn't even ask it of you, why can't you find it within yourself to save your own child?!" Elijah all but demanded.

"Don't pretend to know anything about Caroline or my actions regarding her." Klaus snapped. "I don't have to explain myself to anyone, including you."

"I saw how you are with her." Elijah told him.

"What are you talking about?" Klaus demanded.

"I got a look inside her head." Elijah continued ignoring the way Klaus's eyes flashed angrily.

Klaus stepped forward till he was in Elijah's face staring him down. "You had no right to invade her mind like that. I should shove a dagger through your heart on principle." he growled out angrily.

"See, that right, there." said Elijah. "You're proving my whole point."

Klaus was taken back, brow furrowing in confusion. "What the bloody hell are you on about?"

"You act as if any unrightful slight toward her is a slight toward you. Every threat thrown at her is a threat at you." Elijah shook his head. "You would give that girl anything she asked of you."

Klaus eyes hardened, his face closing off, hating the thought of Elijah or anyone knowing that there wasn't no length he would not go to for Caroline because if his enemies knew they would use it against him the way his brother was attempting to use it against him right now. "I don't have to listen to this." he stated coldly before turning from Elijah and walking briskly away without a backward glance.

* * *

Caroline looked out the passenger side window as Stefan drove through the streets of New Orleans driving toward the exit. She thought about everything that happened since she woke up, the witches, finding out about Hayley and her pregnancy, the latter bothering her more than she wanted to admit. And she thought about Klaus. It had felt wrong to just leave him to deal with the mess even if he was the only reason why the witches had dragged her into whatever crap they were cooking up.

She glanced ahead and saw they were starting to leave the city limits getting closer to the border, she shifted uneasily in her seat, a hand pressing against her stomach, she felt unnaturally empty like she had lost something but couldn't begin to understand what.

"Are you alright?" Stefan voice sounded, filled with concern.

She glanced at him, offering him a faint reassuring smile or as reassuring as she could muster up at the moment. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to process everything."

Stefan returned his eyes to the road, a question at the tip of his tongue, but suppressing it or at least he was until then he wasn't. "What's going on with you and Klaus?"

Caroline tensed up at the question. "What?"

"What's going on with you and Klaus?" he repeated, leveling her with one of his inquisitive looks.

"Nothing." she lied, quickly looking away from him and back out the window.

"Caroline." Stefan sighed. "I don't know why you're bothering with lying about this, it was pretty obvious that something change between the two of you recently. Plus I know you been spending time with him."

Caroline's head snapped back toward him. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I found your phone with more than a few calls from him." Stefan told her.

Caroline folded her arms defensively across her chest. "It's rude to go through a person's phone, you know?"

"Caroline, that's not the point. You don't have to lie about Klaus." he said. "I won't judge."

Caroline opened and closed her mouth, attempting to come up with something before sighing in annoyance with herself for her inability to lie successfully to Stefan. "We slept together." she muttered.

Stefan eyes widened in surprise. He didn't know why he was so surprised by this, Klaus had been showing interest in Caroline for over a year and Caroline managed somehow to get Klaus of all people wrapped around her finger, willing to give her anything and everything if she so much as ask it of him. "Is that why you have been spending a lot of your time with him? Because you're together?"

"We're not together." Caroline corrected, relieved not to hear any judgment in his voice. "We only slept together one time." though she left out the fact that it was a lot of sex that one time. Stefan didn't need to know that. "And that was weeks ago."

"Then why have you been spending so much time with him?" Stefan asked, voice laced with confusion.

"He's been helping me learn how to refuse mind compulsion and stopped others from invading my head." Caroline told him. "After I saw what Silas was capable of I didn't want to be on the receiving end."

"And he just helped you out of the goodness of his heart?" Stefan replied sarcastically. "What did he want in return?"

Caroline shot him a glare. "Nothing."

"Really, Caroline, what did he want?" Stefan asked again.

"Nothing." Caroline repeated firmly. "I asked for his help and he agreed."

Stefan glanced over at her in surprise. "Really, nothing. He helped you just because you asked."

"I asked for his help and he gave it to me." she shrugged her shoulders a little helplessly. "We're friends."

"If I haven't spent the last day looking for you with him that would probably shock me but after today it's pretty clear Klaus cares a great deal about you." Stefan admitted. "I thought it was just an infatuation but I'm starting to think it's deeper than that."

Caroline glanced away. She had thought so too, she had started to believe he was falling in love with her but knowing he slept with Hayley and got her pregnant in the process had her doubting that.

"Do you have feelings for him?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know." she muttered, not expecting the question.

"You don't have to lie." Stefan said, returning his eyes to the road seeing the exit sign of New Orleans just up ahead.

"I'm not. I don't know how I feel about him half the time." Caroline admitted reluctantly. "It's all so complicated. There's times where I can't stand him, where I remember everything he's done since he came to Mystic Falls, where I remember he supposed to be the enemy."

"But?" Stefan asked, knowing there was more and wanting to encourage her to continue so she would know he was willing to listen and he wouldn't judge her for any of it.

"He's always there when I need him." Caroline admitted. "Doesn't matter if it's for something big or small. Something life threatening or something he finds ridiculous. From helping with a prom dress to mind control. If I ask I know he'll be there."

"He puts you first." Stefan said quietly in understanding,

"Yeah." Caroline breath, relieved that Stefan understood. "Knowing that he would be there no matter what if I need him, it makes me feel like I matter in a way I never really imagined before."

"Just be careful, Caroline." warned Stefan. "Being involved with Klaus to any degree whether you're sleeping with him or just friends is dangerous."

"You think I don't know that, Stefan?" responded Caroline. "I have always known this. I know exactly who Klaus is." She knew exactly who Klaus was but it didn't change anything, didn't change that despite her attempts to fight how she felt, she cared for Klaus more than she has ever openly admit to anyone let alone herself.

"I'm just concern for you, Caroline." Stefan said, trying to make her see how dangerous the situation was that she had gotten herself into by getting close to Klaus. "Klaus has more enemies than I can even begin to fathom and none of them will hesitate to use you against him just like the witches did tonight."

Caroline was just about to respond just as they passed out of the city limits passing the exit sign for New Orleans when she felt a pain rippled throughout her body, her hand snatch out gripping at the door and hissed in pain through clench teeth. She felt like her body was being pulled in different directions too many to count, the tug painful as it pulled at her.

"Caroline?" Stefan said alarmed. "What is it?!"

"Something's wrong." Caroline said, her breathing laboring because of the pain. "I can't-I can't-" her voice trailed off as she vanished from the car.

Stefan's foot slammed on the brakes, the tires squealing as it came to an abrupt stop and he stared at the passenger seat where Caroline had just vanished right before his eyes, like she had been yanked from the car.

* * *

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Agnes asked of Sophie as they stood inside a crypt, she was starting to think Sophie was too young and too naive to fully comprehend her actions.

"Marcel and his vampires are out of control." answered Sophie. "Something had to be done."

"And the solution is to bring in more vampires?" Agnes questioned, unable to see how Sophie could be so naive as to think her actions won't come with consequences. "They're the Originals." she stressed. "What makes you think you can control the hybrid?"

"She can't." Elijah voice sounded as he appeared leaning on the wall. "I'm not entirely certain that I can, either." he pushed himself off the wall. "But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question; What prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?"

"Caroline." answered Sophie, raising her head with an air of superiority.

"Who you no longer have." Elijah reminded. "I'm sure Miss Forbes is exiting the city limits and well on her way back home."

"She can't leave New Orleans." Sophie stated. "I've made sure of it."

"What are you talking about?" asked Elijah.

But before Sophie could answer there was a disturbance in the air and Caroline appeared out of thin air in the middle of the crypt. Caroline glanced around in confusion, one minute she was sitting in the passenger seat of a car with Stefan heading home and the next she was standing back in that damn stupid crypt with the witches, Hayley off to the side and Elijah, not to mention what looked like the dead body of a witch on the ground that was covered with a sheet. "What the hell?!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Hello, again, Caroline." Sophie smirked. "I think now will be the time to tell you that you can't leave New Orleans and I mean that literally."

Caroline glared at the witch and for a moment she let the darker parts of her take hold imagining what it would be like to tear into Sophie piece by piece until she was scattered all over this stupid damn crypt. "What did you do?"

"I cast a spell. Something similar to a boundry spell, every time you try and leave the city limits you'll be transported right back here to this exact spot. Might as well consider yourself my prisoner." Sophie informed her, delighting in the upper hand she held.

"You really are looking to get yourself killed by my brother's hands, aren't you?" Elijah shook his head sardonically.

"I'm doing what I have to do." Sophie stated firmly. "And making sure Caroline stays here in New Orleans isn't the only card I have up my sleeve to play." Sophie took out a needle, making a show of showing it to Elijah. She stuck the needle into her hand.

"Ow!" Hayley, exclaimed looking to the source of the pain, in her hand. Elijah looked over and saw a drop of blood on her hand, exactly in the same spot where Sophie had sticked her hand with the needle. "What the hell!?" she exclaimed.

Caroline glanced from Hayley's hand to Sophie, it didn't take a genius to figure out magic was at work there.

"One of the spells my sister performed, the ones that got her killed? It didn't just confirm the pregnancy. It linked me to Hayley." Sophie explained. "And that wasn't the only linking spell that she performed." her eyes settled on Caroline with a dark look and Caroline had a feeling she wasn't going to like what the witch said next. "And she linked your life to the life of Hayley and Klaus's unborn child."

Caroline eyes widened. "You can't be serious." Things went wrong with pregnancies all the time, the witches couldn't have been that crazy could they? Then again, Sophie was trying to blackmail the Originals so clearly she was insane.

"Very." said Sophie. "So anything that happens to me, happens to Hayley and what happens to the baby, happens to you." Sophie turned her gaze to Elijah. "It's clear what this baby already means to you and Klaus may not care what happens to this child but he will once he learns Caroline's life is directly tied to that of the child's, I have a feeling then he'll be heavily invested in this child's well being. If I have to hurt Hayley and in turn the baby..or worse..to ensure that I have your attention, I will."

Elijah looked at her with faint amusement at her audacity. "You would dare threaten an Original?"

"I have nothing to lose." said Sophie earnestly.

The grin disappeared from Elijah's face because people often did stupid and desperate things when they had nothing to lose.

"You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind." Sophie told him. "Shouldn't be too hard once he learns of Caroline's part to play in this."

"I'm not some pawn to be use in this twisted game you have going on!" Caroline hissed angrily.

Sophie looked at her with a look of superiority. "Perhaps you should have thought about that before allowing yourself to get involved with the hybrid then."

* * *

Klaus had made his way back to Marcel's gathering of vampires partying. He had every intention of wrapping things up here in New Orleans and returning to Mystic Falls and talking with Caroline.

"Hey, man. Where'd you run off to?" Marcel greeted him.

"You mean your minions aren't still documenting my every move." he sneered making his displeasure with that fact known.

"Someone put you in a mood." commented Marcel. "What can I do?"

"What you can do is you can tell me what this thing is you have with the witches." Said Klaus, getting to the point.

"We're back to that?" Marcel sighed.

""Yeah, we're back to that." said Klaus, wanting an answer.

"You know I owe you everything I got, but I'm afraid I have to draw the line on this one." said Marcel, tired of all these questions about the witches Klaus kept asking. "This is my business I control the witches in my town. Let's just leave it at that."

"Your town." Klaus repeated, if his tone hadn't already lost all fake pretenses, it did now.

"Damn straight." said Marcel.

"That's funny." Klaus sneered. "Because when I left 100 years ago, you were just a pathetic little scrapper still trembling from the lashes of the whips of those who would keep you down, and now look at you. Master of your domain. Prince of the city. I'd like to know how."

"Why? Jealous?" Marcel challenged. "Hey man, I get it. 300 years ago, you helped build a backwater penal colony into something. You started it but then you left. Actually, you ran from it. I saw it through. Look around. Vampires rule this city now." he gestured to all around him. "We don't have to live in the shadows like rats. The locals know their place. They look the other way. I got rid of the werewolves. I even found a way to shut down the witches." as Marcel continued his words got more impassioned as he went on. "The blood never stops flowing and the party never ends. You want to pass on through? You want to stay a while? Great. What's mine is yours but it is mine. My home, my family, my rules."

Klaus jaw clench feeling anger curling in the pit of his stomach and rising with Marcel's every word. "And if someone breaks those rules?"

"They die. Mercy is for the weak. You taught me that, too." Marcel moved into Klaus's space all but challenging the hybrid. "And I'm not the Prince of the quarter, friend. I'm the King! Show me some respect!"

The air around Klaus suddenly grew still just seconds before he lashed out, his temper getting the better of him as he grabbed one of Marcel's many vampires, Diego and bit viciously into his neck before dropping him. He faced Marcel, Diego's blood dripping from the corners of his mouth, eyes angry and cold. "You're friend will be dead by the week end. Which means I've broken one of your rules. And yet I cannot be killed. I am immortal. Who has the power now, _friend_?" he challenged, mockingly, facing off with Marcel who said nothing. After a moment Klaus smirked around at the crowd, watching before turning on his heel and leaving Marcel to stare after him.

* * *

Caroline shifted impatiently on her feet, leaning back against the crypt wall, glaring daggers at Sophie and the older witch Agnes and another witch who had joined them by the name of Sabine. Sophie had had a few other witches come and take Hayley elsewhere but had refused to let Caroline out of her sight.

Caroline felt anger simmering in her stomach just being in the witches presence whose sole purpose seem to be using her as a sacrificial pawn in whatever game she was trying to play with Klaus and whoever this Marcel was. Caroline looked away from them when she heard church clock bells start to toll.

"His time is up?" Agnes announced looking to Sophie. "What're you gonna do now, Sophie?"

Caroline tensed at the question, she hated knowing that her fate was currently in the hands of this vindictive witch.

"I'm gonna do what I said I was gonna do." Sophie stated plainly, her eyes flicking to Caroline.

Caroline tensed further, meeting her gaze but refused to show the inner turmoil she was feeling, plastering on a blank look as she stared back at the witch.

"What, kill the girl? Kill yourself?" questioned Sabine, she waved a hand at Caroline. "Kill her? We already seen what he's capable of when her life is threatened."

"What else is she supposed to do?" asked Agnes. "Klaus does not care for the child, only the vampire."

"My brother may not care for the child but I do." Elijah said, walking into the crypt, carrying a body. "And I bring proof of my intent to help you; the body of your fallen friend, which I procured from Marcel himself."

"Jane-Anne." said Sophie in realization that he had gotten her sister's body back.

"May she be granted peace." said Elijah. "Klaus will agree to your terms. I just need a little more time."

"You had your time. It's passed." denied Agnes.

"Shut up, Agnes." Sabine told the older witch.

''For now, accept the deal." said Elijah. "The girl," he paused, glancing toward Caroline who stood defensively watching them all. "Both girls and the child remain unharmed or Klaus will kill you all." he made to leave but paused turning back around. "And I will help him."

Sophie turned to Caroline once Elijah was gone. "Looks like you might just get to live after all."

Caroline glared. "Once this is all over and you're no longer linked to a pregnant girl, I'm going to kill you myself." While Caroline preferred not to go around killing people she was willing to make an exception for Sophie just not until she was unlinked from Hayley, she wouldn't risk the life of an innocent baby.

Sophie's eyes hardened as she returned Caroline's glare with one of her own. "Remember it's not just your life I can end but your friends and mother as well. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your mom now, would you?"

Caroline glared defiantly, a muscle in her jaw ticking, black veins spreading out underneath her eyes as anger coursed through her but she didn't move a muscle holding her anger in check, swearing to herself that when she killed Sophie it wouldn't be quick. No that would be too good for the bitch, Caroline would be sure to drag her death out.

* * *

Klaus moved through the streets of New Orleans, figuring he would leave return to Mystic Falls and with any luck salvage his friendship with Caroline. He walked through the crowds but paused seeing a vaguely familiar face, the bartender from earlier, Camille was staring at a dark painting being painted by a street artist. Klaus walked over, stopping to stand just beside her.

"The hundred dollar guy." Camille said in greeting, remembering him from earlier.

"The brave bartender." Klaus returned. "Camille. That's a french name."

"It's a grandma's name." said Camille. "Call me Cami." she looked to the painter. "Amazing, isn't he?"

Klaus didn't answered and instead asked. "Do you paint?"

"No, but I admire." she answered. "Every artist has a story, you know."

"And what do you suppose his story is?" Klaus asked.

"He's...angry." Cami said after a moment of pondering as she observed the painter and his work. "Dark. Doesn't feel safe and doesn't know what to do about it. He wishes he could control his demons instead of having his demons control him. He's lost, alone."

Klaus felt her words hit close to home, feeling like she was describing him.

"Or... maybe he just drank too much tonight." Cami said, smiling. "Sorry. Overzealous psych major."

"No." said Klaus his voice almost somber. "I think you were probably right the first time." He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and dug it out from the inside pocket of his jacket, seeing Stefan's number. His eyes narrowed, Stefan should've been on the road back to Mystic Falls with Caroline and not calling him unless something was wrong.

He pressed his thumb over the screen, answering and walking away from Cami without a backward glance. "Stefan, you better be calling to tell me you and Caroline are on your way back to Mystic Falls." he said into the phone after raising it to his ear.

"We were but then she just vanished." Stefan answered anxiously.

Klaus clenched his jaw. "What do you mean she just vanished?!" he demanded, shoving through a crowd irritably.

"I mean we were just passing the exit sign and she just disappeared from the car, like she was yanked." Stefan stressed, his concern evident. "I'm sure it was the witches, they must have done something."

"Witches!" Klaus spat out like a curse. "Get back here then!" he snapped. "And the next time I tell you to get Caroline out of here I expect you to do it or you might just find your heart ripped from your chest and shoved down your own throat!" he abruptly ended the car not waiting on Stefan's response, stuffing his phone back in his jacket and changed his course to the damn cemetery.

Klaus was halfway to the cemetery when he spotted Elijah walking toward him, coming from that direction. "Not now Elijah!" Klaus growled, moving to shove past him but Elijah pushed him back to keep him from moving forward.

"Stop, you need to stop." Elijah told him sternly. "You need to think of Hayley and your child."

"Quit harping on about the baby. That child will never be born. In fact, Hayley is probably dead already." Klaus growled. "And I have something more important to deal with."

"You mean Caroline?" Elijah shot out at him. "Because they now have her again."

Klaus glared darkly. "Get out of my way I have a witch to maim and kill!"

"You won't be touching a hair on that witches head." Elijah declared, starring his brother down.

Klaus scoffed. "And who's going to stop me? You?" he laughed derisively. "Don't delude yourself into believing you have any control over what I do."

"You won't kill the witch." Elijah said with complete certainty. "Because if you do you would only be killing Caroline."

The look Klaus shot Elijah was dark and cold. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?!"

"Sophie has linked her own life to Hayley's, if the witch dies Hayley dies, the baby dies." Elijah informed.

"I don't see the problem there." Klaus sneered. "And none of that has to do with Caroline."

"If the baby dies so does she." said Elijah. "Sophie has linked Caroline's life to that of the child."

"Of course, she did." Klaus growled angrily.

"They also insured that Caroline cannot leave New Orleans. You may not want to work with the witches but Sophie holds all the cards." said Elijah. "If you care at all for your child or its mother or Caroline you will work with them."

Klaus eyes glared hatefully. "I hate fucking witches!" an animalistic growl sounded from deep in his chest and he whirled around, walking away a few feet to a bench.

Elijah watch his brother sit there simmering in his anger for several minutes before joining him.

"I'm sure you're loving this." Klaus said. "With Caroline's life being linked to the child's."

"I don't take pleasure that Miss Forbes is mixed up in this but if her being linked to the child means you'll actually taking responsibility for your child then I'll take it as an undisguised blessing."

"It easier when you don't care." Klaus groused irritably. "At least then it can't be used against you."

"Can't say I agree." said Elijah. "I've waited a thousand years for you to care about something other than yourself."

Klaus rolled his eyes. Elijah, the noble brother, always trying to find the good in him. His eyes scanned the street in front of him. "I forgot how much I liked this town." Klaus mused effectively changing the subject.

"I didn't forget." replied Elijah, noticing the sudden subject change but allowing it. "All the centuries we've spent together and yet I can count on one hand the number of times that our family has been truly happy. I hated leaving here."

"As did I." Klaus admitted.

"What is on your mind, brother?" Elijah inquired.

"For a thousand years, I lived in fear. Any time I settled anywhere, our father would hunt me down and... chase me off. He made me feel powerless and I hated it." The resentment was obvious as Klaus spoke. "This town was my home once, and in my absence, Marcel has gotten everything that I ever wanted. Power, loyalty, family. I made him in my image and he has bettered me." Klaus found himself envious of Marcel in a way he hasn't felt in a very long time. "I want what he has. I want to be king."

"Is that all this child means to you?" asked Elijah. "A grab for power?"

"What does it mean to you?" asked Klaus, though he could see that the child already meant something to Elijah.

"I think this child could offer you the one thing you've never believed you had." Elijah told him.

"And what's that?" asked Klaus.

"The unconditional love of family." answered Elijah.

Klaus turned his eyes from ahead of him at the street to Elijah. He was quiet for a moment, before looking back out to the street. "Every King needs an heir." he said at last.

"And Caroline?" wondered Elijah, still curious of his brother's attachment to the blonde. "What's her part in all this." and Elijah watched in surprise as a genuine smile appeared on his brother's features, one he couldn't ever recall seeing before.

"She's a Queen fit for a King." said Klaus, thinking of the girl in question. "And every King needs his Queen."

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you like this chapter.:)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I apologize for any mistakes or errors.

* * *

Caroline felt a wave of relief flow through her when Klaus strode back through the crypt doors but it quickly turned back to the ire that she was feeling from this stupid situation she found herself in. She barely even noticed Elijah and Stefan entering the crypt behind him.

"Finally." Caroline exclaimed. "Can we get on with what these witches want so Stefan and I can go home already." she pushed off the wall she was leaning against.

"It won't be that simple or easy." smirked Sophie . "What we need Klaus to do it's going to take time, you won't be going home anytime soon." she turned to Klaus her smirk fading as she stared the original hybrid in question down. "Do we have a deal?"

Klaus glowered at her, face blank and eyes cold, he prowled forward like a panther stalking its prey, stepping into Sophie's personal space, hostility flowing off of him. "We have a deal." he told her. "But let's be clear on one thing if you threatened Caroline's life again there will be consequences. Just because nothing can happen to you while you have yourself linked doesn't mean I can't find ways of making you suffer." his words drips from his mouth like poison. "The next time you threatened Caroline's life, you might want to consider the friends and loved ones you'll be condemning to truly agonizing torturous deaths."

Sophie swallowed thickly but kept her head held high determined not to show how much he was intimidating her. And he was. She knew the only reason he hadn't killed her was because of the linking spells. She nodded, acknowledging his words.

Klaus gave her another dark look. "Caroline will be leaving with me."

"And Hayley." Elijah added when his brother failed to mention the pregnant wolf.

"What are you talking about? I'm not going with you." Caroline protested as Stefan came to stand beside her.

"You don't have a choice. Not this time, Love." Klaus stepped forward, completely ignoring Stefan at her side and reaching out and grasping her forearm. "Until all this Marcel business is settled you'll be staying indefinitely with me here in New Orleans." he gave her arm a tug, tugging her forward.

"I can't believe this crap!" she said angrily, trying to tug her arm from his grip but his grasp was like steel.

"Stop." Klaus tightened his hand on her arm. "It can't be helped, let's go."

"Caroline." Stefan said. "You won't be able to go home right now. But Klaus will keep you safe. We'll protect you." Stefan hated the situation Caroline was put in. He had no doubt Liz wasn't going to take it well either.

"I don't need protecting! I can take care of myself." she said, struggling against Klaus's grasp as he tugged her toward the door to the crypt. She looked at Klaus in complete ire. "This is completely your fault, you know."

Klaus rolled his eyes, stopping short at the crypt door, looking to his brother. "You can wait for the wolf, I'm getting Caroline away from these bloody witches now." Klaus didn't wait for a response, turning back around, tugging Caroline out of the crypt with Stefan following close behind, the whole time Caroline making her ire known, muttering angrily at him.

They barely gotten twenty feet away from the crypt when Caroline somehow managed to free herself out of Klaus's grasped. "Stop manhandling me!" she snapped whirling to face him.

"Then move, we're getting out of here." Klaus retorted.

Caroline crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "I'm not going anywhere until the witches remove the threat on my mom and friends."

"You're being very difficult." Klaus glared.

Caroline didn't say anything only stared him down, refusing to move an inch.

Klaus groaned in annoyance before whirling on Stefan. "Wait here with her." he snapped.

Caroline watched him head back to the crypt before looking to Stefan. "This is worse than we thought. I can't believe I have to stay in New Orleans."

"We'll get you through this." Stefan assured her in his reassuring way.

Caroline looked at him. She knew Stefan would stay that was just the kind of friend he was but she wouldn't ask that of him. If both of them couldn't go home than at least one of them could. Besides she would need someone she trusted to watch out for her mother while she was gone.

She heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Klaus walking back toward them and this time Elijah and Hayley were with him.

"Well?" Caroline asked expectantly.

"It's done, as long as you cooperate your mother and friends are safe." Klaus told her his annoyance clear, he grabbed her shoulder turning her around and giving her a light push. "Walk, love."

Caroline rolled her eyes but complied as Klaus led them through the cemetery and out to the streets of New Orleans. She didn't know where Klaus was taking them but knew she had no choice but to follow to wherever the hell he was taking them.

* * *

Caroline sat out on the steps of the large Victorian house. The house she would be staying in with Hayley, Klaus and Elijah for the time being. It was surreal. She spent most the night trying to wrap her mind around everything, her new predicament and the unbelievable fact that Hayley was carrying Klaus's child but as hard as she tried to come to terms with it all she couldn't and got little sleep for her efforts.

She rubbed at her forehead, wondering if it was possible for vampires to get a headache because just dealing with this made her feel like she had one. Probably from frustration if it were possible otherwise it was just in her head from being tired with all this already.

She heard the front door open and saw Stefan as he came down on the steps next to her. The both of them were quiet until Stefan ended the silence. "Are you sure about this? That you want me to leave? Because I can stay."

"No, you can't. Sooner or later Damon or Elena are going to need you for whatever the next problem they find themselves in and knowing them that could be as soon as tomorrow." she gave a shrug of her shoulders. "Besides I need someone to keep an eye on my mom while I'm not there and I'd feel a lot better knowing it was you."

Stefan sighed. He didn't like the thought that he was abandoning her to deal with Klaus and this mess alone. "You know if you need anything.."

"I know." Caroline interrupted. "But I'm going to be find, Stefan. I can handle myself."

Stefan nodded, standing slowly descending the steps and turning to face her. "I know but just try not to get in over your head more than you already are and if you do just promise me you'll call and asked for help."

Caroline stood and walked down to the last step. "I promise." she said and reached up to give him a hug, he returned it. "Go home, Stefan. I'll be sure to call my mom and tell her what's going on that way she won't kill you when you show up without me."

"That would be very much appreciated." chuckled Stefan releasing her. "Bye Caroline." he paused. "And be careful."

"I will." Caroline nodded.

"I don't just mean about your safety." he said, his words heavy with meaning.

Caroline paused, knowing he was referring to her and Klaus. "I will." she repeated more firmly.

Stefan nodded and then turned walking to the car he had been driving the night before.

"Bye Stefan." Caroline nodded at him as he got in the car and watch him drive away.

"Well, wasn't that touching." and Caroline sighed at the sound of Klaus's voice from behind her. She turned to see him leaning against the house next to the door.

"How long have you been there?" She accused.

"Long enough to see you're goodbyes." he pushed off the wall, stepping toward her as she walked back up the steps. "We haven't gotten a chance to talk."

Caroline leaned back against the banister. "I don't see the point when we don't have anything to say." She crossed her arms and looked away from him.

Caroline could feel his eyes on her, watching her but she was careful to keep her face blank.

"I think we have plenty to say." he countered. "And since when do you pass up the chance to lay into me?"

Caroline slowly turned back toward him and leveled him with a look. "Right around the time I realized what a fool I've been thinking we were actually becoming friends."

"We are." Klaus argued. "We are friends."

Caroline scoffed. "Maybe I should go back to reciting the friend handbook to you. Here's a fact. Friends don't lie to each other. Not the good ones."

"I haven't lied to you." Klaus denied, his brow furrowing.

"What you just conveniently forgot to mention you've been screwing around with Hayley for god knows how long?" she snarked and even she could hear the resentment in her voice and if she could hear it there was no way Klaus wouldn't pick up on it too. She took a deep breath trying to reign it in.

Slowly an infuriating smirk slid on Klaus's face, he stepped forward until they were only a few inches apart, his gaze heavy and knowing on her. "You're jealous." he accused, sounding pleased with the notion.

"I am not!" she snapped vehemently, glaring heatedly at him.

"You are." he smirked. "You're jealous I slept with her. Angry even."

"Please! I am not!" she snapped only furthering his point. "What the hell do I have to be angry for? There's nothing here." she uncrossed her arms and waved a hand between the two of them and watch as his smirk formed into a deep frown, the amusement in his eyes changing to something else, something she couldn't quite identify.

"There is." he said in a tone laced with conviction and certainty, sounding so sure, he stepped forward until their clothes brushed and there was barely an inch between them as he locked his gaze on her eyes hard and unrelenting. "There's something between us whether you want to admit to it or not."

Caroline scowled and looked away from him, looking at anywhere but at him however she felt his hand grabbing a hold of her chin in a firm grip, forcing her to look straight at him, locking their eyes once again.

"We're not just friends." he said, his words coming out more harsh than he meant. "We're never going to be just friends and you can lie to yourself otherwise all you want but deep down you know just as well as I do that what's between us is far more deeper and intense than something as simple as friendship."

Caroline glared jerking her head out of his grasp. "You're wrong."

"No, I'm not and you know it, Love." he reached his hand toward her, trailing his fingers through her blonde hair before pushing it back over her shoulder, the feel of his fingers in her hair caused an involuntary shiver to course through her and Klaus being Klaus didn't miss it. "It's only a matter of time until you admit that to yourself."

Caroline tensed. His words hitting her hard, making her angry. She thought back to how they became friends over the past couple weeks, she had actually allowed herself to believe that they were friends. She couldn't believe how naive she'd been when he had only been biding his time. "So the last couple weeks was what? You biding your time until I gave into you?" she scoffed. "I gave into you once in the heat of the moment but it won't be happening again."

Klaus eyes tightened, clenching his jaw. "You can act like you don't feel anything for me or that you don't think about it but the truth is you just won't let yourself go there but you can only deny yourself for so long. Trust me I know."

Caroline hated his words, hated how they hit a nerve, not wanting to admit that on some level he was right. "You don't know anything. You can wait and bide your time all you want but nothing is going to happen between us. Are better yet why don't you go back to screwing Hayley." She shoved past him, forcing him back a step and made her way back inside needing to get away from him.

Klaus watched her disappear into the house, his jaw clenching, eyes tightening, he breathed out in an attempt to control his temper in an effort not to storm after her figuring he pushed Caroline enough.

For now at least. He wasn't giving up. He was determined she would begin to see things his way.

* * *

Hayley pulled a sheet off a crib, letting out a cough from the dust.

"Are you alright?"

She turned to see Elijah looking at her in relative concern. "Just dust. This place is ancient."

"Yes, it should serve our purposes. It's a sanctuary from our business in the Quarter. Right now, you are the most important person in this family. You need a good home." he paused, hearing his brother and Caroline in a heated disagreement, he made an effort not to eavesdrop but it was difficult with curiosity about the dynamics of their relationship, be it friendship or something else entirely. He forced himself to block out their voices and words and focused back on Hayley. "So I'm curious... in all this time, has anyone asked you how you feel?"

"About having a miracle baby with a psychotic one-night-stand?" asked Hayley wryly. It sounded nuts and knowing what she knew it was even crazier and hard to believe.

"About being a mother?" Elijah clarified earnestly.

Hayley was a little surprised by the question but tried not to show it. "I... I was abandoned when I was born and my adoptive parents kicked me out the second that I turned into a wolf. So... I don't really know how I feel about being a mother because I... I never really had a good one." She paused. "I always wanted family." she admitted. She wanted her family and she would do whatever she had to to get that.

The more he talk with Hayley the more Elijah found himself intrigued with her. "I will always protect you. You have my word on that."

Hayley opened her mouth to say something but closed it at the sound of Caroline's voice muttering obscenities, they glanced at the doorway to see her storm right on by not even glancing at them and heading up the stairs. Elijah shook his head and figured Klaus must have said something to upset the blonde, he turned back to Hayley and paused at the strange expression on her face as she stared after Caroline. "Do you two know each other?"

"I was friends with her boyfriend but we're not close." Hayley answered, quickly looking away. "But we don't exactly get along."

Elijah nodded, wondering how that would play out with the two women living under the same roof.

* * *

"Look, everything's going to be fine, I'll be home as soon as this mess is over." Caroline assured her mother over the phone. When she told Liz about what she managed to get mixed up in here saying she had not been pleased would be an understatement. She was barely able to talk her mother out of coming here.

"How can you be so sure, Caroline? I don't like this. Klaus is going to end up getting you killed!" Liz voice was filled with concern and worry.

"There's a lot I can't say about Klaus for certain but there is one thing I can. Klaus would never let me get killed." Caroline paused, hearing the truth in her own words. "He's not going to let anything happen to me."

"This doesn't sit well me. How am I supposed to just trust Klaus will keep you safe?" her mother sounded doubtful, torn.

"I'm not asking you to trust Klaus, mom." Caroline said, her voice taking on a imploring edge. "I asking you to trust me."

There was silence before Liz heaved a long drawn out sigh like Caroline had just ask the world of her. "I want to hear from you every single day."

"I can do that." Caroline assured her, relieved her mother was coming around as one would say.

"I mean it Caroline, everyday, I want to hear from you. I don't care what's going on. If I don't get at least one phone call a day. I will come there." Her mother promised.

"Okay, I'll call you everyday." Caroline assured her not doubting that her mother would do just that. "I promise."

"Good. I'm really, glad you're okay, honey." Liz said. "I hate to cut this short but I have to go but we'll talk more tomorrow. I love you."

"Love you, too." Caroline smiled and quickly said goodbye. She was just hanging up when she heard a throat clearing. She looked from the bed she was sitting on in the room that was designated to her and glared. "You're making it a habit of lurking."

"I just wanted to make something clear." Klaus said, not stepping forward into the room. "You seem to be under the impression that I've been sleeping with Hayley on a regular basis."

"Let me guess this is the part where you tell me otherwise." she replied snippily with a roll of her eyes. She knew she was being a bitch but she couldn't help it, she was just so frustrated with everything.

Klaus chose to ignore her snappy remark. "I haven't been sleeping around with Hayley. We slept together once and it was before you and I slept together."

"Why are you telling me this now?" asked Caroline, why couldn't he have just told her this before instead she had to find out from learning Hayley was pregnant with his kid.

Klaus stared at her intently his eyes roaming every inch of her face. "Because I don't want there to be any confusion about who I want and it's not Hayley." he turned then and disappeared down the hall.

Caroline looked at the place he was standing, his words ringing in her head on a loop, the look in his eyes when he said it so intense she felt like he could see all the walls she put up to keep him from getting too close. She found she no longer knew where the two of them stood with one another.

* * *

Elijah and Klaus looked around at the house now that almost all the furniture was uncovered, having just got done talking about how things went with Marcel when Klaus went to smooth things over and how Elijah worked out the rest of the deal with the witches for the time being.

Elijah had moved on to discussing Marcel and his many followers. "In addition to the secret weapon he uses to control the witches, Marcel has assembled a small army of vampires. Working together, we can destroy them from the inside."

"And what of Rebekah?" asked Klaus. "Has she stopped her pouting long enough to join the fun?" he was aware that Elijah had spoken to Rebekah about the current situation regarding Hayley.

"She has made her disinterest quite clear." said Elijah. Elijah hadn't agreed with her decision but he had hope that she would come around in time.

"One too many times daggered and shoved in a box, I gather?" Klaus mused wryly. "Or perhaps she doesn't share your unwavering belief that I can be saved."

"Rebekah may surprise us yet." said Elijah with confidence. "After all, we all swore the same vow." he was referring to their always and forever vow that they took a thousand years ago.

Klaus however didn't hold the same hope as his brother when it came to their sister. "I hope she stays far away. Because in my desire to reclaim this town, to steal from Marcel that which he holds most dear, I have realized two massive vulnerabilities. Weaknesses that Marcel could exploit and while I can't do anything about one of those vulnerabilities, I can with the other."

"And what is that?" questioned Elijah, not seeing where his brother was going with this.

"You." Klaus slid the white oak dagger in his hand into his brother's chest, Elijah groaned as the dagger took effect. "Forgive me, my brother." said Klaus, knowing the next words out of his mouth would make him a hypocrite because of how he felt about Caroline but he couldn't bring himself to care. "There is no power in love. Mercy makes you weak. Family makes you weak. If I am going to win this war, I have to do it alone." he lowered Elijah's body to the floor.

He couldn't do anything about Caroline being a vulnerability, no weapon to put her safely down until this was all settled and she was safe. Elijah he could take care of, get him out of the way before Marcel had a chance to use his brother against him.

But that still left his biggest weakness vulnerable. He wasn't sure what to do about Caroline other than locking her in a fortified room until the witches and Marcel were dealt with and she was no longer linked to the child the wolf carried. He entertained the idea of locking her up somewhere for a moment but he knew Caroline would never go for it, she'd find a way out. She was resilient in that way. No, he would have to somehow keep her safe, make sure Marcel never found out about her less she be used against him. No, Caroline's presence in New Orleans and what she meant to him had to be kept secret.

But he highly doubted that it would be as easy as that but he would do whatever it took to keep her from any more harm. No one was going to take her from him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Congratulations to anyone who picked up on the subtle hints about Hayley. She is not completely innocent in all this.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I do not own anything.**

* * *

Caroline had been living in New Orleans for a little over a month now. Living in the same house with Klaus and Hayley. Elijah was supposed to be here too but he had just up and disappeared. But she didn't actually believe he just disappeared, she thought Klaus might have had something to do with it. He did have that nasty habit of daggering his siblings.

But if he did in fact dagger Elijah she wondered why. They had seemed to be getting along fine from what she had seen but the relationships between Klaus and his family were confusing and complicated at best.

Then there was the fact that she and Hayley had been doing their best to avoid each other. She didn't know why Hayley avoided her but she knew why the hell she avoided Hayley. Being around her bothered her more than she likes to admit because then she would have to acknowledge why it bothered her so much to be around her. Sure there was the Tyler thing and how she betrayed him and the other hybrids and let's not forget the fact that she had snapped her neck that one time but no none of that was what really bothered her when it came to Hayley.

No every time she looked at her she couldn't help but be reminded that Klaus had slept with her and now..now Hayley was carrying his child. That was what bothered her. She knew it was irrational. She had still been with Tyler at the time but it didn't make knowing that Klaus had been with her easier. She was secretly glad that Hayley and Klaus only were together that one time. Not that she would ever tell Klaus that or anyone for that matter.

She had believed Klaus when he said that he only slept with Hayley once. He had never lie to her before and she didn't see why he'd start now. She knew he loved her honesty, he expected it and gave his own in return.

Things were still tense between them even more so with him practically keeping her locked up in this house, not wanting her to step one foot off the property. It was annoying as hell and grated on her last nerve. She was bored out of her mind most the time. She missed having something to do. She had started reading through the books in the extensive library just to keep her occupied.

She missed Mystic Falls and even though she talked to her mom on the phone every day it wasn't the same as seeing her. She missed her friends and her old life. Her life in New Orleans if you could even call it that was a far cry from what her life had been in Mystic Falls and she couldn't help but blame Klaus for it. If he hadn't been so infatuated with her or obsessed or whatever the hell you wanted to call it, if it weren't for him she wouldn't have even been on the witches of New Orleans radar.

And it might have been petty and childish but she was always being difficult with him on purpose and was sure to not be in the same room with him for longer than necessary at best and refused most of his attempts at talking to her even though she knew it bugged him and grated on his last nerve. And it didn't help that things were complicated and tense with them at best, it helped that he was mostly off getting Marcel or whatever the hell his name was to trust him. It allowed her to keep to herself mostly which she actually preferred currently.

* * *

Caroline looked up from the book she was reading in the library when she heard a car drive up to the property and the sound of someone getting out of it. She could hear Hayley moving throughout the house probably down the steps, she slid a bookmark into the page she was on before closing the book and setting it beside her just as a familiar voice sounded from just outside the house.

"Elijah, if not answering your phone is part of your clever plan to get me back to this godforsaken city, then well done. I'm here and I'm worried. Now pick up before I kick in your bloody door."

Rebekah. Caroline could hear her as she entered the house.

"Who the hell are you?" Hayley's voice sounded.

Caroline took a drink from her glass of blood before setting it on the table and got up from her seat, walking toward the door.

"Oh, you must be the maid. My bags are in the car - get them, will you?" Rebekah directed at Hayley.

"She's not the maid." Caroline stepped out of the library, looking at the female original. "That is Hayley."

Rebekah looked at her a flicker of surprise appearing on her features when she looked at her but was gone as quickly as it came, her eyes returning to Hayley with understanding. "Right. You're that werewolf girl my brother, Klaus knocked up." Her eyes flickered back to Caroline as if looking for a reaction from her from that statement.

Well if that what she was looking for she wasn't going to get one. She had come to terms with the knowledge that Hayley was carrying Klaus's child. Kinda hard not to when she could hear its heart beating from Hayley's womb. She could be wrong but she kinda thought it sounded like there was more than one heartbeat. Perhaps twins? But was it too early to tell? She didn't know. She wasn't expert on pregnancies let alone a miracle one. And how come no one else picked up on it?

Rebekah brought her gaze back to Hayley as she continued when she didn't see a reaction from Caroline. "I was expecting to see some kind of supernatural, miracle baby bump. Guess you're not showing yet." She didn't wait for Hayley to respond before turning back on Caroline. "I heard that you manage to get yourself on the New Orleans Witches radar. Being on my

brother's radar not working out for you, now is it, Caroline?"

Caroline glared. "Really? What gave you that idea? Could it be that I'm here instead of home where I should be?" her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Quite ironic, isn't it?" Rebekah smirked. "All the times you were used as bait for my brother and now you're a bargaining chip for the witches to use against him."

Hayley looked at the two, her brow furrowed, getting the feeling that there was some history between the two. "You have your brother's manners," Hayley commented when she felt the two blondes were glaring too long at one another for her liking.

Rebekah returned her gaze to Hayley. "And his temper, too, so watch it." Rebekah looked from Hayley to Caroline to Hayley again. "Where's Elijah?"

Caroline shook her head in answer. As if she knew. He was probably somewhere with a white ash dagger buried in his chest.

"Beats me. He's long gone." Hayley told Rebekah.

"What do you mean "long gone"?" Rebekah questioned.

"Well, one minute he was here making epic promises about protecting me in this predicament that a bottle of scotch and some bad decisions got me into - he was all poetic about how we're family - and then Klaus told me he bailed. Guess that's what I get for trusting a vampire."

Like Elijah's disappearance coming from Klaus wasn't suspicious. It was one of the reasons Caroline suspected that Klaus might have daggered his brother.

"Elijah is not just any vampire, and he doesn't break promises." Rebekah turned her eyes to Caroline expectantly as if she knew where Elijah had gone or what had really happened to him.

"Don't look at me I'm not your brother's keeper." Caroline crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well if he's not here it means Niklaus has done something dastardly and Klaus-like," Rebekah replied.

"Well then ask Klaus about it and not me." Caroline retorted.

Rebekah rolled her eyes at Caroline's words knowing that if Caroline really had bothered to ask Klaus would probably have told her, he usually gave Caroline whatever she wanted much to her annoyance. "Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you've done with our brother, you narcissistic, backstabbing wanker!"

Well, that was certainly one way of calling someone out and getting their attention. If not a little on the dramatic side.

A pair of doors were pulled open with Klaus emerging from them. "Enough with all the shouting. Little sister, I should have known. I assume the six dead vampires were your doing?"

"The ones in the Quarter?" Caroline wondered. Klaus often told her of his progress he was making with Marcel as a form of a peace offering, trying to ease the tension between them. She pretended not to care most the time but that didn't mean she didn't pay attention to what he told her.

"You know about that but you don't know about Elijah?" Rebekah demanded.

"I don't know about Elijah. I can't help it if Klaus tells me some things and not others." Retorted Caroline defensively.

"Maybe if you bothered asking." Snapped Rebekah in irritation.

"Alright, enough, can we get back to the dead vampires?" Interrupted Klaus.

"They were very rude." Answered Rebekah before going on to explain what had happened. "Trying to victimize a poor innocent girl just trying t find her way to the Quarter." She made a mock apologetic face. "So sorry, were they friends of yours? Oh, that's right, you don't have any friends."

"I do have friends. I have Marcel. You remember him, don't you?" He smirked, watching as emotion flickered across his sister's face. "Yes, of course, you do. He fancies himself the 'King of the Quarter' now and he has these rules about killing vampires. It'll be fun to see what sort of punishment he comes up with for you." At some point Klaus had taken a seat on a seating against the wall, relaxing back looking the picture of confidence and nonchalance.

"I don't care about Marcel or his rules," Rebekah stated dismissively. "Elijah doesn't welch on his deals. What did you do to him?"

"Perhaps he's on a holiday... or taking a long autumn nap upstairs," said Klaus not at all bothered by Rebekah being crossed with him. She was often crossed with him. "Well, go on. Take a look around. You remember this house as well as I."

Rebekah made to leave the room but turned back around. "I remember everything."

Caroline watched as Klaus and Rebekah seemed to be living a shared memory before Klaus said. "Well, he wasn't good enough for you."

"No one was ever good enough for me, Nik, you made sure of that." Said Rebekah, the past was proof enough of that. Not with Klaus around always to disapprove who she chose to be with. "Now where is Elijah?"

Klaus's phone started to buzz, he retrieved it, checking it before standing and moving to leave.

"Where are you going?" Rebekah demanded.

"It appears my night is not quite over, yet. I'm off for another drink with Marcel," he told her.

"Elijah told me about your plan to take apart Marcel's empire piece by piece. I don't remember it involving you two drinking New Orleans dry together." Rebekah stated, her eyes sliding to Caroline than back to her brother. "Or perhaps you're dragging this out cause you know once all this is done with, Caroline would be heading back to Mystic Falls with not so much as a goodbye."

"Ugh, don't bring me into your bickering." Caroline dropped her arms. "Just leave me out of it."

"I have no intention of keeping Caroline here against her will once this is done." Klaus glared at his sister. "She will be free to do as she wants." Though he fully intended to have convinced her to stay with him here in New Orleans by then.

Rebekah nearly scoffed. "For centuries you've tried to control everything and everyone around you, to bend them to your will but Caroline...Caroline's free to do whatever she wants."

Klaus sent her a condescending smirk. "I don't wish to control Caroline."

"Could you please leave me the hell out of this!" Caroline said exasperated, bringing all eyes to her. "And quit talking like I'm not standing right here."

"Certainly, Love," Klaus replied sending her a crooked smirk. A smirk that caused a tightening in Caroline's gut that she refused to acknowledge and instead sent him an annoyed look.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. She was sure she would never understand what it was her brother saw in Caroline.

"I know you don't have many friends, Rebekah, but what some friends do when they get together is they drink. And when they drink, they tell secrets." He told her, as close to condescending as one can get. "Marcel has somehow found a way to control the entirety of witches in the Quarter, and I aim to uncover the 'how' so I might take it for myself. Finding Elijah didn't make my to-do list today." Klaus turned walking to the door but paused, turning back. "Oh, and welcome home, little sister." The door shutting behind him a moment later.

Rebekah turned on the spot, contemplating what Klaus just said, she noticed Hayley sitting on a landing above, having moved there at some point. "You, wolf girl. I'm going to search this house inch by inch until I find what my evil brother has done to my good one. You're helping."

Caroline raised a brow when Hayley got up without complaint to do as Rebekah all but commanded. Usually, Hayley argued whenever anyone told her what to do. Caroline turned to head back to the library and return to her book when Rebekah's voice stopped her.

"That goes for you to Caroline."

Caroline turned back around. "And I would help why?"

"Don't you think this business with Marcel and the witches would go faster if Elijah was helping Klaus?" Asked Rebekah rhetorically.

"No, not really." Said Caroline. "From what I know from Elena about Elijah he likes to negotiate rather than do what needs to be done."

"Elena doesn't know Elijah. Not really." Said Rebekah. "And neither do you. I thought you wanted to go home?"

"I do," said Caroline. "The faster the better."

"Than help me find my brother," said Rebekah. "Besides you know it's the right thing to do."

Caroline scowled. "That's low. Manipulating my conscious." She heaved a sigh. "Fine. Where do we start?"

* * *

"The Governor had lots of secret rooms. I'll show you his favorite." Caroline walked down a spiral staircase with Hayley and Rebekah, listening as the latter told them about the house.

They arrived at a dusty, cobwebbed cellar room, filled with the coffins that Klaus kept his siblings daggered in.

"The Mikaelson coffins." Mused Caroline.

"The what?" Asked Hayley in confusion. "You guys think Klaus killed him."

Rebekah turned to Caroline. "Have you told her nothing about my family?"

"It's not my place to fill her in on your dysfunctional family." Caroline gave a shrug of her shoulder.

"Fill me in on what?" Asked Hayley looking between the two.

"We can't be killed, silly girl," Rebekah told her. "That doesn't stop Klaus from finding ways to torture us. He has a set of mystical silver daggers. One in the heart sends us into a deep slumber. Klaus gets his jollies from keeping us in a box until he decides to pull the dagger out. That must be what he's done to Elijah. This one's mine." she said, nodding her head at one of the coffins.

"He keeps your coffin on standby," Hayley asked incredulously.

"He likes to be prepared for when his family members inevitably disappoint him." Said Rebekah morbidly. "Elijah isn't here." She realized, not seeing his coffin. "He must've stashed him elsewhere."

"And here I was hoping our search was over." Stated Caroline.

"I feel sick." Said Hayley at the new information she was being told.

"Welcome to the family, love," Rebekah told her. "You should've run the second you realized Elijah was gone."

"Yeah, well, the witches have put some sort of hex on me." Said Hayley. "As long as I'm carrying this baby, I can't leave New Orleans. If I do, they kill me."

"Well, knowing Klaus, he's planning a box for you the second you give birth to whatever's cooking in your tum," Rebekah told her. "I'm leaving as soon as I find Elijah. Being daggered in a box for decades sucks, trust me. You'd be best to find a way to break that hex and run." She turned to Caroline. "And if you give him any inclination that you might return whatever it is Klaus feels for you. He'll never let you go. You'll become his prisoner until your undead life however long that may be comes to an end." Rebekah turned on her heel, going off to continue her search.

Caroline frowned. She didn't need to be told that. She had a feeling that Klaus was never going to truly let her go. He would always be there, lurking in the background, waiting. Waiting for that day when he believed she would show up on his doorstep, wanting him to show her the world. She would go home when this was over but she knew he would never completely let her go.

Hayley watched Rebekah's retreating back until she disappeared considering what she said. Hayley had thought she knew what she was getting into. She was sure she was willing to do whatever it took for her family. That's all she wanted. She wanted her family back. But now she wasn't so sure she was willing to do whatever she had to like she thought she was. This was her life hanging in the balance. She looked down at her stomach and then up at Caroline. That familiar feeling churning in her gut whenever she looked at the blonde, she quickly turned needing to not be in the same room as the blonde.

Caroline watched Hayley take off, shaking her head at Hayley's strange behavior around her, she left the room and turned down a different hall then the one she saw Rebekah go down, hoping if they split up they might have a better chance of finding Elijah faster. Well assuming Klaus was even keeping him somewhere in the house.

* * *

Sophie had more or less been feeling on edge since her deal with Klaus so when she was cleaning at Rousseau's wiping a table when she felt like something or someone was watching her, she was instantly on alert. She walked cautiously through the restaurant. "Hello? Seriously, Marcel? Trying to scare me? I had nothing to do with the attack on your guys last night!"

The pots hanging on the wall started moving behind Sophie as if a gust of wind had passed through them, she turned around, walking toward them slowly, grabbing a knife, she lifted her arm but before she could even throw it, a blonde appeared out of nowhere gripping her raised arm. "Sophie Devaraux. My brother, Elijah told me about you. Know who I am?"

"Yeah, I know." Sophie knew exactly who the blonde was.

"Then you know we need to talk."

Rebekah had left the werewolf girl and Caroline to their own devices once it was clear Klaus was not keeping Elijah's body somewhere else in the house. She had searched every secret room she could remember and came up with nothing. Her next move was seeking out Sophie, the witch Elijah had told her about. The witch and she had relocated to the cemetery, somewhere they could talk, without fear of being overheard by anyone who shouldn't be listening, they walked among the burial vaults of the cemetery.

"So, if I had to guess, knowing Klaus's history, Elijah has a dagger in his chest. It's a magical object, you're a witch. Do a locator spell, locate the dagger, locate Elijah." Rebekah didn't want to bother with pleasantries or fake pretenses she just wanted to get to her reasons for seeking out the witch.

"I can't use magic," Sophie said, basically telling her no. "It's punishable by death. Marcel's rules."

"Marcel?" Repeated Rebekah, her voice taking on a dangerous edge. Clearly, Sophie did not realize that in the moment she was the one the witch should be afraid of. "What do you think I'm going to do to you if you don't give me what I want?"

"Not much. I've been linked, so anything you do to me, you do to Hayley." Sophie was confident that Rebekah wouldn't risk it.

"Who?" Rebekah asked, her face scrunching up in confusion.

Sophie gave her a significant look, hoping Rebekah would get her meaning.

"Oh, right the mumzy," Rebekah said recalling the wolf girl she had met earlier. "Well, luckily for you, Elijah seems to care about her, otherwise I'd break your neck right here."

"I can't imagine that would go over too well with Klaus," Sophie said leadingly.

Rebekah scoffed. "If you think my brother cares what happens to Hayley you couldn't be more wrong."

"No, but he cares about what happens to Caroline," Sophie argued. "If you kill me, you kill Hayley, you kill the baby which equals a dead Caroline."

"What?" Rebekah turned to her confused. "What the bloody hell are you going on about?"

"I linked Caroline to the baby. Did Elijah not tell you that?"

"No, he didn't." Said Rebekah, taking in what she just heard. Killing Caroline would be a way to spite Klaus, perhaps teach him a lesson but she knew if she did that she would find herself with a dagger being embedded in her chest and her body rotting away in a box even longer than Finn had been. It was tempting but the consequences made it not worth it. "No, wonder the werewolf is still breathing or you for that matter. I've come to learn that Klaus puts Caroline even before me, his own family."

"Then I guess I made the perfect choice for a bargaining chip."

"No, you didn't, when you're no longer linked, you'll be lucky to even breathe your next breath." Rebekah shook her head and Sophie tried not to let her words get to her. "How did Marcel get so bloody powerful, anyway? He wasn't like this when I left a hundred years ago."

"Marcel has a way to tell whenever there's magic done in the Quarter. The 'how; isn't relevant." Sophie had no intention of telling her how that was even possible. She rather keep her cards close to her chest for as long as possible.

"I'll tell you what's not bloody relevant - a coven of witches who can't do magic. Here's an idea; move away." It was a pretty obvious solution to Rebekah.

"We practice ancestral magic. This cemetery is filled with the remains of our witch ancestors. Without access to them, we're powerless. If we run, we're leaving our legacy behind - our home, our family." Sophie tried to explain.

"Well, family's overrated. Look at me. I'm back in a city that's given me nothing but heartache, looking for a brother who's hell-bent on protecting a baby I don't care about." Rebekah stated, if it wasn't for Elijah she wouldn't be here now, dealing with crap she didn't want to be bothered with. She wanted to curse Elijah for caring so damn much about what he believed to be Klaus's chances at somehow redeeming himself. Which he couldn't be more wrong about. It was impossible for Klaus to redeem himself after a thousand years of showing nothing but hate and cruelty.

"I find that hard to believe," Sophie said doubtfully because the fact that Rebekah was there spoke for itself. "You're here, aren't you?"

"I'm here for Elijah. The instant I find him, I'm gone." Rebekah claimed, she had no intention of sticking around. "He was the one who idiotically believes this baby and Caroline would be Niklaus's redemption. And now he's missing, probably at the hands of Klaus himself. And you were foolish enough to believe that Elijah could convince Klaus to go against Marcel when everyone knows they have a history."

"Klaus sired Marcel," Sophie stated in a matter of fact tone. "I'm aware."

"You don't understand. Marcel is not just some guy that Klaus turned into a vampire. Klaus loved him like a son." Rebekah went on to tell her about the day Klaus met Marcel. "Klaus saw himself in the boy. He remembered how our father used to beat him. He, too, was the bastard child of a man who saw him as nothing but a beast. And that is why your plan will fail. All you've done is bring back together two long-lost souls. Without Elijah between them, who knows what they'll do." Rebekah was done here and made to leave she only got a few steps before Sophie's voice was calling out to her.

"Maybe but with Caroline's life on the line I don't believe there's nothing he won't do to save her."

Rebekah paused glancing back at her. "I think the question you should be asking yourself is what exactly he's going to do to you once her life is no longer tied to the baby."

* * *

Klaus entered the bar that Marcel had taken to frequenting since he himself had returned to New Orleans, spotting Marcel sitting at a table, having a drink. He sat across from him. "Well, this is a far cry from last night's party." He noticed Marcel was distracted by something, or someone, looking toward the bar and saw a vaguely familiar blonde sitting at the bar, writing. "Ah, in pursuit of the bartender from Rousseau's, I see."

"She's a work in progress," Marcel claimed.

"And yet here you are pining over her when you should be eating her for lunch. Oh, she must be special." However, Klaus much preferred his own blonde distraction.

Klaus knew a thing or two about pining over a woman. And Caroline was certainly a work in progress. He understood what Marcel was dealing with but to a stronger degree.

Things hadn't been the same between him and Caroline ever since she found out about his one night with Hayley that resulted in a mystical pregnancy. He was trying to change that, get them back to where they were but that was hard to do when Caroline barely said more than a handful of sentences to him. He often felt like they were back where they started with her denying any sort of interaction with him.

But he wasn't giving up, he was determined. These last few weeks had shown him just how much he had enjoyed their previous friendship when she would talk openly with him, come to him for real help and not just because she needed a dress for some stupid school dance that she deemed important to her.

He was determined to get that back, where she would allow him to treat her to dinner, where they had deep talks ranging from their likes, music, history, art, what she wanted out of life, her dreams. Or to how she didn't care when he stood close to her or pull away from a casual touch. He was confident if he could do that then eventually she would come to return his affections. And he would do what he had to to make that happen. Preferably before this baby business was over because he wanted her to choose to stay in New Orleans of her own accord and not because she was being forced to do so by witches keeping her here. He wanted her to want to be by his side. To willingly stand beside him as his Queen.

"Business first." Marcel's voice brought him out of his Caroline filled thoughts. "The corner called. He's got my number in case any dead tourists show up."

"Let me guess - dead tourists with a stamp on the hand and vampire blood in their veins?"

"It happens," Marcel replied. "Someone takes a drunken tumble off a balcony or into the Mississipi... And today I got two of them to deal with."

Klaus was mostly paying attention to what Marcel was saying but when he also heard, Cami, the bartender gathering her things to leave he rose from his seat as she passed by their table, stopping her. "Excuse me, love. What's that you're studying?"

"Abnormal psychology." She answered, pausing beside their table.

"Abnormal psychology, well. Perhaps you could help me diagnose my friend over here." he motioned to Marcel while laying on the charm. "He's been a bit depressed, can't keep his mind off a girl. He tells me she's a queen, fit for a king. I think he should cut his losses and move on. What's your professional opinion?"

When she answered she spoke directly to Marcel. "Be a nice guy and maybe the opportunity will present itself some day."

Klaus wasn't sure that was correct. He'd been trying that with Caroline and nothing. But he remained silent not refuting her answer.

"How about tonight, nine o'clock?" Marcel flashed her a smile full of charm. "I'll meet you right here?"

"I'll take it under consideration." She told him before leaving.

"Mm, harsh," Marcel said at her practically brushing him off.

"I daresay I've lost my touch. Or you've lost yours." Klaus said with a laugh.

Marcel smiled at him despite the dig as they sipped at their drinks.

This part, the laughing and just being old friends came easily to Klaus. The act as natural as breathing for him. It was only a matter of time until Marcel would slip up and tell him what he wanted to know.

* * *

Hayley was a little surprised that she managed to get out of the house without too many questions from Caroline. When Caroline had spotted her leaving and asked where she thought she was going, she had lied not needing her to know what she was up to. Caroline had seemed to believe her or she was just that stupid or just didn't care what she got up to but either way, it worked out for her as she had made her way easily to the French Quarter.

She stopped in front of her destination, she glanced around making sure no one was paying her any attention and slipped into the shop but it looked like the shopkeeper was getting ready to leave.

"Hey, hey!" Hayley protested. If she was going to do this, this might be her only chance.

"We're getting ready to close, sorry." The girl told her.

"I just need one teeny, tiny little herb. Please." Hayley put on her best pleading expression.

"Which herb?" The girl questioned.

"Crushed aconite flower," Hayley answered.

"Wolfsbane?" the girl brow furrowed. "That's a poison. You're gonna kill a wolf?"

"Just a little one," Hayley said, pushing away the thought she was going to kill a baby. She knew she wouldn't only be killing the baby but Caroline as well but she didn't see any other way out of this. She had to think about herself.

"Give me a minute." Katie moved to the back of the shop reappearing a few minutes late, holding a vial in her hand. "Cut it with jimson weed. A few drops of some hot tea - that should do it."

"Here." Hayley handed her the money for the herb but the shopkeeper refused it.

"It's an ugly town for wolves. You're doing the right thing."

Hayley took what she came there for, turning on her heel, however when she exited the shop she nearly dropped the vial in surprise. "Caroline!"

She tightened her hand on the vial and she didn't have to ask to know that Caroline had heard everything in the shop.

Caroline was looking at her with the largest amount of disgust that anyone has ever looked at her with, a black glare darkening her face that surprisingly sent a chill up Hayley's spine.

Hayley had no clue how she was going to lie her way out of this one and if Caroline told Klaus of her intentions she didn't even want to think about what he would do to her. She was really beginning to hate the decisions she had made recently and ever meeting the Deveraux witches.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you like the chapter. In all honesty, I'm nervous about posting the next chapter. I've gotten a few bad reviews on it before on AO3. So fair warning if you don't like the idea of Caroline being harsh to Hayley than you should skip the next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: (Warnings: There is talk of aborting a baby in this chapter)**

 **I've gotten bad reviews for this chapter before on AO3 so I want to make something clear. I firmly believe a woman has the right to decide what happens to her body, whether to have a child or to not have it, the woman should always have the final say because it's their body.**

 **Secondly, all I ask is that you try not to hate on Caroline too much, some of her reaction has nothing to do with Hayley and goes much deeper.**

* * *

Caroline had followed Hayley discreetly to the French Quarter not having bought into her obvious line with the werewolf girl none the wiser that she was being followed. Caroline followed her up until she went into a small shop.

Caroline ventured closer but lingered outside as she listened to everything that was being said inside the shop.

Her insides twisted as she realized Hayley had come here with the sole purpose of getting rid of the baby. And she felt anger and disgust well up inside her chest.

It was only minutes before Hayley was exiting the shop, Caroline had placed herself directly on the sidewalk in front of the door, arms crossed over her chest in an attempt to keep her anger in check, not wanting her hands to be free afraid of what she might do.

"Caroline!" Hayley's voice sounded full of surprise but the look on her face was one who knew they'd been caught doing something they knew they shouldn't have been doing.

Just looking at her made revulsion settle in Caroline's stomach, the sound of her voice angering her further with what she knew Hayley was planning to do. She looked at her not bothering to hide an ounce of her disgust. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! You can't just get rid of the baby!"

Hayley bristled at Caroline's words despite knowing she needed to find a way to lie out of the situation. "Nothing's wrong with me."

Caroline scoffed. "Please." She unfolded her arms and snatched up Hayley's arm and before Hayley had time to react, she found herself being whisked away, the wind rushing past her and then she was suddenly standing in the middle of a park she had passed on the way to the shop, standing in front of the park bench.

Hayley placed a hand on her stomach, feeling like the world was spinning and she was going to be sick. She jerked out of Caroline's grasped, sitting down on the park bench and hunching over, with her head tuck toward her knees, breathing in deeply, trying to will away the sudden motion sickness and the urge to vomit.

Once Hayley was sure she wasn't going to throw up the contents of her stomach, she straightened up, exhaling. "What the hell Caroline? Have you lost your mind?!" She looked up to see Caroline, standing over her, black glare still in place, arms tense at her sides, the vial of wolfsbane in her right hand.

"I'm not the one trying to get rid of an innocent child yet I'm supposed to be the one who's lost their mind." Caroline scoffed. "Please!"

"What I decide to do with the child is none of your business!" Hayley snapped. "It's my body. Not yours."

Caroline shook her head unable to believe someone could be so selfish. "You're right it is your body but that baby you're carrying isn't just yours. It's Klaus's as well."

"This baby would be better off without him as a father." Hayley glared.

"No child is better off without their parent," Caroline stated firmly. "I would think someone who didn't know their parents would understand that."

Hayley jumped to her feet angrily. "Leave my family out of this! Klaus doesn't even want this baby!"

"Given time he might but he won't have that chance if you kill it." Caroline defended.

"You don't believe that." Hayley looked at her with contempt. "Why are you pretending like you give a damn about the baby when we know all you care about is that your life is tied to it. You just don't want to die."

"Of course, I don't want to die!" Caroline retorted, her voice rising. "But this isn't about me!"

"Is everything okay?" A voice intruded and they both snapped their gazes to see a man looking at them warily.

Caroline could hear the thud of his heartbeat and knew he was human. "Everything's fine." She put on her sweetest smile. "Just a little misunderstanding." When the man hesitated to leave still looking at them warily, she narrowed her eyes. "Everything's fine here. Leave." She allowed the compulsion to take place.

The man repeated her words monotonously, moving away without a backward glance.

"Nice." Hayley snarked and Caroline glared at her.

"This isn't about me not wanting to die," Caroline said firmly.

"Yeah right." Hayley scoffed.

"Don't believe me? Fine. Here." Caroline shoved the vial into Hayley's hand. "Take it."

Hayley's hand tightened on the vial, surprised that Caroline had given it back to her. Her eyes traveled back to Caroline and could see righteous fury shining through her.

"You want to kill your own child so bad? Your own flesh and blood? Take it." Caroline hissed at her dangerously. "I hope it haunts you for the rest of your life." Caroline whirled away from her in disgust, fisting her hands tightly. If Hayley wasn't pregnant she was certain she wouldn't have been able to keep herself from hitting Hayley in her disgust. As it was it was taking nearly all her control not to do so.

Hayley eyed Caroline warily, watching the tense set of her shoulders, how her frame was tense like she was barely restraining herself from lashing out. Hayley took a step away, and when Caroline didn't so much as move a muscle in response she turned and started walking away.

Caroline turned her head slowly, watching as Hayley walked down the street but made no move to follow her. The very idea of remaining in Hayley's presence making her stomach turn like she had a pit of acid swirling in her gut.

* * *

Klaus had spent the day basically shadowing Marcel, seeing how the so-called King of the Quarter ran things. And apparently, the recruitment of tourist was a thing if they died with vampire blood in their systems. Usually, he didn't have any kind of use for new vampires, they were all but useless to him but he actually could see an opportunity with the prospect of new vampires. He would make the new baby vamp loyal to him before the new vamp could swear his allegiance to Marcel, all it would take would be a little compulsion here before Marcel had him on Vervain.

Shortly after dealing with the dead in transition tourist situation Marcel had taken off for a bit and Klaus had returned to the bar he and Marcel had been at earlier, ordering himself a drink and that was where Marcel found him sitting when he returned.

"I know that face," Klaus smirked knowingly. "Woman trouble."

"You're a dick, you know that?" Marcel accused. "Why didn't you tell me your sister's back in town?" He had just seen Rebekah and it would have been nice if Klaus had warned him of her presence in the Quarter beforehand. There's was nothing like when your ex blows into town.

"Well, I thought it would be more amusing for you to find out for yourself," Klaus said, not hiding his amusement and not feeling the least bit guilty.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Marcel asked, he didn't need any more surprises but with his guys ending up dead the same time Rebekah blew into town? Well, it was too much of a coincidence for him.

"Only that she's grown considerably more insane in the last century." Klaus quipped.

"Or maybe that it was her who killed my guys?" Marcel persisted.

"Doubtful," Klaus said, not giving even a hint that he was covering for his sister. "Unless that biker bar is frequented by small-town, high school quarterbacks, I can't imagine she'd be interested."

Marcel's phone ranged before he could pry further and he answered it. "Yeah?"

Klaus listened in but kept his face blank not reacting to what he was overhearing.

" _Just got a tip, someone saw a werewolf in Bienville Park_." Said the voice from the other line.

"Get a couple night-walkers to run it down. Bring me back its head." Marcel ordered and hung up.

"Well, I guess that solves the mystery of the murdered riffraff. At least my sister's in the clear." Said Klaus, internally trying to convince himself that the werewolf in the Quarter wasn't Hayley. The girl couldn't have been that stupid, could she?

"About that." Said Marcel. "I don't have time for Mikaelson family drama. You're my guest, keep your sister in line." He got up to leave.

"I'd have a greater chance of draining the Mississippi with a straw!" Klaus's voice rose as he called after Marcel's retreating figure without bothering to turn in his seat at the bar. The day Rebekah allowed herself to be controlled was the day vampires ceased to sustain themselves on blood.

* * *

Hayley walked slowly back to Bienville park where Caroline still was but now was seated on the end of the bench, arms crossed a cold look etched onto her face.

Hayley was careful as she carried a cup of steaming coffee, she came to sit at the opposite end of the bench when Caroline didn't so much as acknowledge her, she carefully set the cup aside and reached for the vial, watching Caroline carefully as she dripped the poison into the cup. She was surprised Caroline didn't so much as flinch.

Hayley pocketed the rest of the vial before picking up the cup, holding it in her hands, she began to lift it to her mouth but then brought it back down. Caroline's words ringing in her head. That it wasn't just her choice to make. That the child she carried was not just her baby. There was no way Caroline could know how right she was or how wrong she was.

This baby. She thought she knew what she was getting into. What the Deveraux's convinced her of. What she would be getting in return. But now she wasn't so sure. Rebekah made it pretty clear that to Klaus she was nothing but a walking, talking incubator and he would kill her as soon as this baby was born.

She thought about coming clean for just a minute but that wasn't an option Klaus would kill her but she was sure he would drag it out painfully slow if he knew what she had done. There was a reason the witches had found her and it wasn't the reasons he was told.

This, killing the baby was the only choice she had left but if she did that she knew she'd be running for the rest of her life because killing the baby meant killing Caroline. Klaus would hunt her down like he spent the last four hundred years hunting down Katherine Pierce. But she was in between a rock and hard place and she had to make a choice.

She glanced at Caroline again to see the blonde hadn't moved a single muscle since she sat down.

"Come on, Hayley." She said to herself. "One upset stomach and all this stupid drama is ancient history." She lifted the cup toward her face, she watched as Caroline turned to her, face blank but her eyes cold, icy even but she didn't say anything, it was just inches to her lips when she lowered the cup back down, heaving a sigh.

There was just no way out of this for Hayley. If she did nothing she would be killed as soon as the baby was born. If she came clean, her death would be slow and agonizing to the point she wasn't so sure she wouldn't beg for death. And if she got rid of the child she'd be killing Caroline and she would be on the run for the rest of her life.

"If you are going to kill your own baby than just do it already." Caroline snapped, her voice sharp and cutting like that of a razor blade. "Quit stalling."

Haley opened her mouth to respond with what she wasn't sure when suddenly the sound of a branch snapping sounded nearby.

Caroline reacted instantly, jumping to her feet and looking around, moving to stand in front of Hayley just as she stood up as if guarding her.

Caroline turned back around and spotted a vampire directly in front of them. Caroline instinctively kept Hayley behind her, shielding her, Caroline's eyes blackened, veins fanning out high on her cheeks and her fangs dropped.

"A vampire and a wolf together in the Quarter." He smirked. "You should have watched what company you kept, blondie. Dumb move on your part." He looked at Hayley behind Caroline. "Even dumber move on your part coming into the Quarter. You're coming with me, wolf."

"She's not going anywhere with you." Caroline snapped, her fist connecting with his jaw, the vampire stumbled back a step in surprise and she used that to her advantage and rushed forward, her hands gripping his head and snapping his neck, she allowed him to drop to the ground but came face to face with two more vampires. She cursed under her breath as one flashed behind her, grabbing a hold of her while the other stepped toward Hayley.

Hayley saw the vampire advancing on her and threw the hot drink with wolfsbane in his face, he grunted in pain but his hand lashed out and seized her by the throat.

Caroline cursed, snapping her head backwards slamming it into the vampire's skull holding her causing his grip to falter on her and Caroline haunched forward, flipping him over her shoulder and onto the ground. The vampire grunted but was back to his feet in seconds, swiping her feet out from under her, her back collided with the concrete, she grunted with the force.

She was just pushing to her feet, when she heard the unmistakable sound of a snapped neck and a hand plunging into a chest cavity, she watched in surprise as the vampire who attacked her collapsed to the ground, and the one holding Hayley by the throat dropped, decaying, his heart ripped from his chest.

"Now, that is no way to treat a pregnant lady." Declared Rebekah to the dead vampire whose heart she had ripped out, she tossed the heart to the side.

Hayley stared wide-eyed at her in shock.

"You sure love to make an entrance, don't you, Rebekah?" Caroline brushed her hands along her clothes, her clothing a little ruffled.

Rebekah smirked. "We Originals have a flare for the dramatic."

Caroline huffed a laugh cause wasn't that the truth.

Hayley looked at the two blondes who acted as if what just happened was a rather common occurrence.

* * *

To say Klaus was displeased with what happened would be a complete understatement, it was one thing for Hayley to go against his orders but the fact that Caroline was once again being dragged into a mess with the dark-haired girl was another. It was like Hayley was actively trying to ruin his plans and he knew Caroline was aware of what he'd been doing because he told her so. She should know better. She was smarter than a stupid stunt like this. And he wasn't too pleased with Rebekah's part in this either. Bloody Hell, it was like the women in his life singular purpose was to drive him to the edge of his restraint, testing just how far they could push him before he lost it.

Klaus threw the final body onto a small pile of vampires corpses in the front courtyard while he berated all three of them for their actions, his movement quick and tense, his words sharp and irritated. "This is why I told you never to leave the house. Werewolves are banned in the Quarter. I had a plan and your little nighttime stroll put it all in peril!" His eyes leveled on Caroline as she stood off to the side. "And you, you know that. I've told you about them and you pull something like this? Are you that angry with me that you want to ruin what I've been working toward?"

Caroline opened her mouth to respond with some retort but was cut off as Rebekah exclaimed. "Oh, of course, Caroline knows of your plans. Is there anything you don't tell her? Oh no, that's just me you don't tell stuff, too." A vampire in the pile of bodies started moving and Rebekah moved forward.

"Leave him!" Klaus snapped angrily at her, and she stopped at the command in his voice. "You've done enough, don't you think? Leaving a trail of dead bodies like a roadmap to my door?"

"If I hadn't overheard this lot bragging about werewolf heads, everyone here would be screwed." Rebekah was tired of being berated by Klaus of all people. "And don't give me that crap about having a plan. You've had all the time in the world to execute a plan, and no one's seen you do a damn thing! Elijah made a deal to protect your child so that it could save you from your selfish, rotten self. But you obviously don't give a damn about the child or Elijah, all you care about is Caroline! What have you actually done to honor Elijah's deal?"

Caroline was really beginning to think that Rebekah seemed to have some issues regarding her at least where Klaus and his family were concerned.

"I have done everything." Klaus snapped back at her. "Let me spell it out for you, shall I? From the day I arrived, Marcel hasn't trusted me. From day one, he's had his vampires ingest toxic vervain which, as you know, little sister, protects them from my mind control."

 _Klaus was in a bar where the human tourists Tina and Josh sat, their hands stamped with the monogrammed 'M'. Klaus snapped their necks._

"I needed a spy, someone on the inside with me who Marcel would never suspect." He continued. "So, I created a Day Zero and got there first. Marcel had just lost six vampires, thanks to your little murder spree and he needed new recruits. So, I made the new one mine before he'd had even a drop of vervain."

 _Klaus climbed into a vehicle with the newly turned, Josh while Marcel was outside on his cell. Klaus went about quickly compelling Josh. "Now, let's have a little chat about what you can do for me."_

"But we all know the real way to a man is through his heart, so..." Caroline tried to ignore the way his eyes washed over her as he said those words.

 _Klaus was at the bar, attempting to talk Marcel up to Cami. "So, my mate, Marcel. Nice bloke, don't you think?"_

 _"No." Said Cami. "He's charming, sexy, confident. did hot. But let's be honest - he's a bad boy, right? Like you. And right now, I only need good in my life, not someone who's -"_

 _"Tragically wounded and damaged by demons he can't escape." Klaus cut in, her words ringing in his head._

 _"The - damaged ones. They're not good. At least, not for me." Cami admitted, moving to leave but Klaus rose, taking her hand._

 _"I understand, I do. However -" he paused allowing his compulsion to take root. "give him one chance, then I need you to tell me where he goes, and who he sees."_

Caroline listened as Klaus explained what he'd been doing, the plans he told her of being set into motion. It seemed to her Klaus had been very busy with infiltrating Marcel ranks like he said he would.

She watched as he walked to the pile of bodies, grabbing the vampire that was still alive.

"And this one -" Said Klaus referring to the vampire in his clutches and began to drag him toward the house. "I'm gonna drain him of vervain, compel him to believe his mates found religion and moved to Utah so that he can explain to Marcel why he lost three more vampires tonight."

Caroline hesitated a moment before following him inside, she could hear Rebekah and Hayley's footsteps doing the same.

Klaus turned swiftly around after leaving the vampire on the floor. "Does anyone have more questions." He looked at them expectantly. "No? Good because I have a few questions. Caroline, what the hell were you thinking? I can't have my enemies finding out about you. If they know about you they would come for me through you."

Caroline glanced at Hayley, she wanted to be spiteful and say she followed Hayley which was the truth but she also didn't know what Klaus would do if he knew what Hayley had been up to. She knew he wouldn't react well.

"Well?" Klaus demanded impatiently.

"I was tired of being cooped up." It wasn't a lie. She was tired of it but it just wasn't why she left the property.

"Tired of being cooped up?" Klaus repeated. "I don't care if you're tired of being cooped up. I care about keeping you safe."

"Easy for you to say. You get to go out." Retorted Caroline, finding herself falling easily into her excuse.

"Caroline." He said, dragging her name out. "Once this is over, and it's safe for you, you can go out all you want but until then I need you to stay put."

Caroline rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest with irritation. "Fine but that better be soon otherwise I can't make any promises." It was the truth she was getting tired of being cooped up, doing absolutely nothing and she hated being told what to do. That was her job, she told people what to do not the other way around. And she absolutely hated practically hiding away. She felt like her control was being taken away from her.

Klaus felt his jaw clenched but turned to Hayley. "And you." Hayley had been surprised that Caroline hadn't ratted her out but stood taller when Klaus addressed her. "Hayley, what were you doing in the bloody French Quarter in the first place?" Hayley stared at him and he quickly grew impatient. "Answer me!"

"Leave her be." Said Rebekah, coming to Hayley's defense.

But Hayley stepped forward all bravado and attitude. "You wanna know what I was doing? I was buying poison, so I could put your little baby out of its misery."

Klaus's reaction was immediate he ran at her with vampire speed, his hand wrapping around her neck, slamming her into the wall.

Caroline jumped, her arms falling to her sides with his violent reaction. She couldn't believe Hayley was stupid enough to tell him that. What was the point of her making up a dumb excuse if she was going to just tell him?

Hayley gasped for air.

"Nik!" Rebekah exclaimed alarmed. "Nik!" She ran at him with her vampire speed, pushing him off of Hayley and gripping him by the shoulders. Hayley immediately began coughing and sputtering, massaging her throat. Caroline was tempted to ask if she was okay, for the baby's sake anyway.

"Keep your hands off her! She is pregnant for God's sake!" She yelled at him. "All of this bluster about not wanting the child, and then the second she tells you she's ready to get rid of it? Or is this about Caroline?" When he said nothing it was answer enough for her. His silence said more than his words could. "It's okay to care. It's okay to want something. That's all Elijah was trying to do, all he's ever wanted for you. All we've ever wanted."

Caroline watched them her brows raised in surprise, she wasn't used to seeing Rebekah speak so open with a vulnerability she hadn't really heard from her before. And watching as her words seemed to get through the anger that had overcome Klaus. He seemed to have calmed down but it was clear by the conflict she could see written all over his face that he was reeling from being confronted with his feelings regarding the possibility of Hayley getting rid of his child. He backed up, sitting on the stairs. Rebekah took a seat beside him.

"I gave Elijah to Marcel," Klaus admitted.

"What?" Rebekah asked in disbelief. She had to have heard him wrong. Klaus wouldn't have been so stupid or careless as to hand their brother to Marcel.

"Marcel was nervous. It's bad enough one Original returned to town but two? His crew was getting antsy. He wanted Elijah gone, so... I gave him a peace offering." Klaus told her.

Rebekah could not believe what she was hearing. "You bartered our brother?"

"I have a plan," Klaus said firmly, looking up and locking eyes with Caroline who he saw was already watching him. "Gain Marcel's trust, dismantle his empire, honor Elijah's wish that that baby be born." He rose from his seat, walking to stand directly in front of Caroline.

Caroline watched him warily as he approached and stood straighter, tensing when he reached his hand up but involuntarily felt herself relaxing into his touch the moment he cupped her cheek, the feel of his palm against her jaw washing over her. "And to keep you safe." His words a low rumble from his chest almost sent a shiver through her.

His hand dropped away from her as he took a step away from her as he turned back to Rebekah and she released a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "I am executing that plan the only way I know how. If you don't like it, there's the door. See if I care."

Caroline watched as he strode out of the room without a backward glance, she turned her gaze back to Rebekah who was leaning back against the railing. Caroline moved and tentatively took a seat beside her but said nothing.

Hayley felt the silence weighing heavily in the room and felt the need for air, she turned on her heel heading outside.

Caroline watched her leave with a glare before looking away, she looked to Rebekah. "I'm sorry about Elijah," Caroline admitted. "I've always known your family had its problems but I just never cared to look more closely to see how much. I've been so obsessed with going home I didn't really care about anything else."

Rebekah glanced at Caroline, they had never really got along but that had more to do with their need to be competitive than anything else. Well, that and Caroline was just so damned good all the bloody time. "You want to get away from here. I can understand, truthfully, I'm only here because of Elijah. I don't necessarily want to be here either." Rebekah stood up. "But I have a feeling neither of us will be leaving in the immediate future. Who knows, if Elijah's right about this baby, maybe he's right about the effect you have on Klaus too."

And with those words, Caroline watched as Rebekah left. She sat in surprise. She wasn't too certain but she was almost sure that as surprising as it was that she and Rebekah just had a little heart to heart. Even if it was just a small heart to heart.

Caroline wasn't sure how long she sat there but at some point, Hayley came back inside disappearing further into the house, it wasn't long before Caroline could hear her and Rebekah, talking, she assumed outside on the back porch. She didn't bother listening in, she wanted nothing to do with Hayley for the time being, just looking at her after what she tried to do pissed her off.

Instead, she stood, venturing further into the house, searching out Klaus. She moved from room to room in search of him until she found him in what looked to be a study. She was guessing his. There was a desk in front of a window, there was a fireplace with what looked like a Victorian painting over it and there was an easel that sat in the corner with a half done canvas. Caroline supposed it was more a cross between a study and an art room. There was a rich leather couch and what looked to be a brown antique coffee table made of rich brown wood with intricate designs. Klaus sat at the end of the couch closest to the fireplace, nursing a drink, a dark look on his face, his jaw clench.

"Hey, do you have a moment?" Caroline ventured further into the room and was a little surprised that when the moment his eyes landed on her, the muscles in his body seemed to relax, his eyes taking on a softer look, the muscles in his jaw seemed to unclench.

"I always have time for you." He gestured for her to sit. Caroline moved and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch. "Can I offer you a drink?"

Caroline glanced at the tumbler in his hand and then at the nearby bar, and gave a small one arm shrug. Not seeing why not. "Sure. That'd be nice."

Klaus leaned forward placing his tumbler on the table before standing up and moving toward the bar. Caroline watched his movements, the way his body moved, his back muscles shifting under the fabric of his shirt as he poured her a drink. She accepted the drink from him as he held it out toward her. "Thank you."

Klaus nodded, returning to his seat, grabbing up his tumbler from the table, taking a drink while watching her with his eyes, his body facing her.

Caroline took a small sip of the drink he poured her, turning her body more toward his so she was facing him directly. "So I wasn't exactly being honest earlier. I was just covering for Hayley which apparently was pointless since she just blurted out what she had been up to."

"I know." Said Klaus. "You been the bait and distraction for me more than enough times that I know when you're not being completely honest with me."

Caroline pursed her lips, biting down on her bottom one. "Well, that did happen quite a bit." She looked up and saw his gaze was solely focused on her, or more on her lips. She immediately stopped biting down on her bottom lip and lifted her tumbler glass to her lips quickly taking a drink.

Klaus' eyes had been drawn to her lips, watching as she bit down on them, imagining doing it instead, watching as she took a drink, he brought his eyes back to hers. "What were you really doing in the French Quarter?"

"I followed Hayley. Wanted to know what she was up to." She paused, her jaw tensing. "I can't believe she would try to get rid of the baby. I mean, how does one make the choice to get rid of their own child. I could never have done that."

"I wasn't aware you thought about children," Klaus responded, taking a drink.

"Before I was a vampire, I basically had my life mapped out. Finish school. College. Possibly become a news journalist, marry a nice guy, have 2.5 kids, possibly get a dog."

"The whole white picket fence then," Klaus said, the corners of his mouth tipping downward into a frown. "Didn't you think you were meant for something more?"

Caroline looked at him. "I think we all think we're meant for more but I was being realistic."

"And now?" Klaus asked, watching her closely.

"Now I don't know," Caroline admitted honestly.

"You know if you ever change your mind my offer to show you the world still stands." He reminded her with a smile.

"I remember." Caroline returned his smile with a small one of her own. "Paris, Rome, Tokyo."

"I see my offer left quite the impression." Grinned Klaus.

"It's not every day a guy offers to show you the world." Caroline gave a shrug of her shoulder.

"I would give you whatever you wanted," Klaus said heavily, his words a promise.

Caroline looked at him, a warmth washing over her at the earnest look in his eyes, the way he focused solely on her. She cleared her throat. "You reacted badly to Hayley trying to get rid of the baby which is pretty expected but is Rebekah right, do you want this baby?"

Klaus looked at her considering not answering, talking about the baby made him uncomfortable more than he liked but it was Caroline and they were talking again, like before all this and she had come to him on her own, he didn't want to screw that up.

"I don't know. I don't want to be a father that abandon his child or turns on them like Mikael did to me but I don't know how to be a loving one. I don't even think I want to be one." He admitted allowing himself to be vulnerable with Caroline. "You know, when I found Marcel he was just a boy. I took him in and raised him as my own."

Caroline listened to him intently, finding it surprising that Klaus in all his so-called villain glory had taken in a young boy.

"I was by no means perfect in doing so and seeing how he is today I don't know if I should have a child. Perhaps this child would be better off without me." Klaus admitted turning his head away.

"Hey." Caroline reached out and touched his arm, drawing his attention back to her. "No child is better off without their parent. My dad was not perfect but I would give anything to have him back. Having a father in your life, it matters." She offered up a teasing smile. "Even if that father is you."

Klaus looked at her in wonder, there were times when Caroline's tongue was so sharp it felt like she was cutting him down and there were others where the words that left her lips made him feel a warmth he wasn't used to feeling. This was one of those times as he felt a warmth spread throughout his chest.

"If you think you made mistakes with Marcel than maybe this is your chance to correct them by not repeating with your own child. You can be the kind of father you always wanted. The kind of father every child needs." Caroline smiled encouragingly at him, hoping her words meant something.

Klaus clasped his hand over hers that was on his arm, her hand small and delicate beneath his own. "Thank you." His tone quiet and intimate making an intense feeling that Caroline wasn't ready to look at too closely come over her, instead, she smiled genuinely at him.

* * *

Klaus walked through the house. It was early and he could hear Caroline already awake in her room but he could hear her on the phone talking with that quarterback Rebekah fancied and decided to let her have some privacy without him eavesdropping on her calls. He passed her room and walked to the one Hayley was occupying and entered the room silently, he took notice that she was still asleep. He moved toward her bag, reaching into it withdrawing the vial of wolfsbane. He opened it and lifted it to his nose, smelling it.

"I didn't use it." Hayley had awakened from her sleep.

"Clearly. Caroline is alive and well." Said Klaus with a harsh tone. "And she will stay that way." The threat was clear.

Hayley swallowed, she wasn't sure what he was more angry about her trying to get rid of the baby or the fact that if she did she would have been killing Caroline.

"You're awake," Klaus stated, still gripping the vial in his hand.

"I could barely sleep all night." She complained. "This house is like a freaking swamp sauna." She sat slowly up in the bed, watching Klaus warily as he moved to stare out the window.

"What stopped you? You could have been free of this... of me." Klaus didn't turn away from the window.

"You mean other than the fact that if I had followed through with it that you would have killed me if Caroline ended up dead as result of me getting rid of the baby?" Hayley replied. "Yeah, well... Caroline really knows how to lay into someone when she's pissed."

Klaus felt himself smiling because wasn't that the truth but it was one of his favorite traits about her. She refused to back down from anyone, including him.

"And when she protected me from those vampires before Rebekah showed up even though I'm pretty sure she'd rather just kill me herself. She was protecting me because she believed the baby's life mattered. When we fought off those vampires, when I fought them off, I..I realized I wasn't just protecting myself. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my birth parents gave me up, and my adopted parents kicked me out or that Caroline reminded me how selfish I was being. All I know is push came to shove, and... I realized I wouldn't let anyone hurt it." Despite all the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, she felt something for the baby she carried.

"I'm beginning to think we're a lot alike, you and I." Klaus turned from the window. "We're both castoffs who have learned to fight when we're backed into a corner."

"Well, we're backed into a corner now." She stated.

Klaus moved toward her. "Ah, that we are. It's time to fight... little wolf." He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it in warning. "But make no mistake if you ever do something that results in Caroline being killed. I will skin you alive as soon as the child is born." His tone was dark and gravelly. It wasn't a threat it was a promise. Klaus backed away, deliberately slipping the vial into his pocket, moving to leave.

Hayley swallowed thickly the icy fear that slid down her spine at the promise in his words. There was no doubt in his mind that Caroline was just as important to him as taking back this city seemed to be. "This whole thing with Marcel - the deal you made with the witches, trying to take him down, take what's his - Rebekah told me that you two loved each other like family. What happened?"

"I made Marcel everything that he is. I treated him like a son. And when my father chased me and my family from New Orleans a hundred years ago, we believed Marcel was killed - we each mourned him, in our own way." Klaus told her. "Yet, when I returned, I found not only had he survived, he had thrived. Instead of us seeking us out, instead of sticking together as one, he made a choice to take everything my family had built and make it his own. Now, he is living in our home, he is sleeping in our beds. That 'M' he stamps everywhere... it's not for 'Marcel'. It's for Mikaelson'. I want it all back and if I have to push him out to get it, then that's exactly what I'll do. I'll have someone see to the air conditioning."

He turned leaving her room, pausing just outside her door, listening for Caroline, he could hear she was finished with her call with the Quarterback and walked back toward her room, pushing the door open, and knocking lightly.

Caroline looked up from where she sat at a desk at the far end of the room.

"I heard you on the phone. How are things back in Mystic Falls?" He wondered.

"Everythings apparently fine." She paused. "Well fine for Mystic Falls standards anyway."

Klaus watched her closely the way her mouth pulled down into a slight frown. "Then what's bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me." Caroline denied looking away from him.

"Caroline." Klaus walked further into the room, taking a seat on the edge of her bed, facing her where she sat in the desk chair.

"It's just Stefan said he'd look after my mom while I was gone except now he's not taking my calls. And according to Elena, he left some time ago." Caroline paused. "It just seems pretty suspicious that he would take off without telling anyone."

"Perhaps he didn't want to see Elena and Damon happily together," Klaus suggested, though he could care less for the doppelganger's drama with the Salvatores.

"Maybe," Caroline said, though she was unconvinced. "It still worries me though and now I'm worried about my mom staying safe. I shouldn't, she's capable of taking care of herself. I'm probably just worrying about nothing."

Klaus understood that she was worried about her mother, unlike him she seemed to have a good relationship with her mother. He could understand why she was worried with how often the people around the Salvatores and Elena ended up as casualties her concerns were valid. "You still talk to her once a day, don't you?"

"Yeah. She seems to be doing well at least." Said Caroline, hearing her mother's voice was always a great assurance that she was safe.

"I'm sure if things change, she'll tell you," Klaus said in an attempt to lessen her worries.

"Well, in any case, I have Matt keeping an eye on her. He said he would call if he ever thought she might be in any serious danger." Said Caroline.

"I could send someone to protect her," Klaus suggested.

Caroline smiled at the offer. "It's a nice offer but I rather have someone I know and can trust. I can't just trust my mother's life with just anyone."

Klaus nodded and sent her a smile before turning to leave however he paused at the sound of her voice calling out to him. "Klaus?" He looked back to her, waiting. "Thanks for listening."

"You can always talk to me." He told her with an intense look before pulling her door shut as he left and standing just outside her room. He wondered how angry she would be if he turned someone with the sole intention of assigning them to bodyguard detail for Sheriff Forbes. In any case, he could handle her anger if she found out. He added it to his mental list of things he needed to do.

He turned hurrying down the stairs only to meet Rebekah as she entered the front door. "You were right. The girl, Cami, she's the key." She declared. "Marcel likes her and because of that I got to see the secret weapon of his that you've been going on about."

"Well, don't stand on ceremony. What is it?" He asked growing impatient.

"It's not a 'what', it's a 'who'." Rebekah clarified. "A girl, Davina. She can't be more than sixteen and I have never felt power like that."

Klaus jaw clenched. "A witch."

"She's not just any witch, she's something I've never seen before, something beyond powerful and now because of you, she has Elijah. Who knows what she could do to him." Rebekah feared what the witch was capable of doing to Elijah.

"Where is she?" Klaus growled.

Rebekah stopped to think and was unable to recall where she had been when she encountered her. She looked at Klaus confounded. "That clever bitch. I don't know."

"What's wrong?" Klaus couldn't see how she couldn't remember.

"She wiped my memory of the location," Rebekah said angrily. "Marcel possesses a weapon bigger and more powerful than an Original and you handed our brother to him! How many times will Elijah forgive you? How long until his hope for your redemption finally dies?"

"I did what I had to do! Marcel took our home!" Klaus snapped at the accusations and blame she threw at him.

"And our home is worthless without family." Rebekah declared. "I am finding Elijah - whatever it takes. Are you going to help me?"

Klaus looked at her, his shoulders tense, the muscles in his jaw tight with tension, his look grim. "Whatever it takes."

* * *

 **A/N: I just want to clarify that while there may be a few jealousy issues in this story. There will be no Klaus, Caroline, Hayley triangle or Klaus, Caroline, Cami triangle. This is a Klaroline story within the first season of Originals storyline with my own added twist and turns to the plot line.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: There's quite a bit of Hayley and Caroline interaction in this chapter. Just thought I should warn you if you're not a fan of , there is mentions of when Damon compelled Caroline.**

* * *

"I cannot believe you disposed of those vampires without me. You know how much I love to set things on fire." Rebekah complained. Klaus had taken care of the vampires from the night before.

"Was I supposed to leave them in the front yard to rot?" Klaus asked sarcastically. "Besides, they were my responsibility. They attacked the helpless pregnant girl who's carrying my child." They had also attacked Caroline but she was far from helpless in his eyes.

"Oh, I am so moved by your newfound sense of fatherly duties toward the werewolf carrying your hybrid bun in her oven." Rebekah retorted, she didn't believe that he truly cared what happens to the werewolf. If she wasn't carrying his child Rebekah was 78 percent sure that Klaus would have killed the werewolf girl by now for all the trouble she was worth.

"The werewolf would like to know what the plan is." Hayley had been in the other room, looking at one of Elijah's journals when she heard the siblings and their petty bickering.

"Well, that depends what plan you mean, love," Klaus smirked. "My plan for global domination, or Rebekah's plan to find love in a cruel, cruel world."

"She means the plan to rescue Elijah." Caroline walked into the room behind Hayley. She had come downstairs after hearing Klaus and Rebekah arguing and she wanted to know herself what the plan was. The sooner things got done and finished with Marcel the sooner she could get home.

Rebekah picked up a pencil from the desk beside her and threw it at Klaus but he caught it easily before it could strike him in the face. Caroline quirked an eyebrow at them.

"I can speak for myself." Hayley snapped at her. She didn't need anyone speaking for her. Let alone Caroline of all people. She still didn't know where Caroline got off saying the things she did to her.

"By all means, go on right ahead." Caroline gestured with her hand for her to go on. "I wasn't trying to speak for you, I just figured that was what you were getting at. "

Hayley rolled her eyes feeling annoyed with just being around Caroline unable to look at her without remembering the things the blonde had said to her.

"What's the plan to rescue Elijah?" Hayley questioned, sending Caroline another side-eye glare before focusing on Klaus. "You know, the good brother. The one who is now in the possession of your mortal enemy after you stabbed him in the back."

Klaus had been staring at Caroline from the moment she entered the room despite Rebekah throwing a projectile at his face but he finally tore his eyes from her. "In the front, if we're being specific."

Caroline gave a snort. Well, at least he wasn't denying his actions though he didn't sound the least apologetic about them either.

"You two said that you would get him back." Hayley looked from one Original to the other. "So is there a plan, or what?"

With everything that Klaus told her the night before about his history with Marcel and the fact that he was trying to gain favor with Marcel, earn his trust and lure him into a false sense of security where Klaus was concerned. So Caroline wasn't all that surprised by what he said next.

"Okay. Well, firstly, Marcel is not my mortal enemy..he's my friend, albeit one who is unaware that I'm trying to sabotage his hold over the supernatural community of the French Quarter, but a friend nonetheless." Klaus informed Hayley. "And secondly, I daggered Elijah in order to gain Marcel's trust. If I had known he would place my bother in the hands of a particularly nasty teenaged witch, I certainly would have weighed my options a bit differently." he looked to Rebekah. "And thirdly, sister, please."

"And thirdly, the plan, as you have demanded, is for Niklaus to simply ask Marcel for Elijah back," Rebekah informed Hayley not the least bit sorry for trying to stab Klaus with a pencil. He deserved it.

"That's..." Hayley frowned worriedly. "That's not the whole plan is it?"

"Of course, it isn't." Said Caroline. "Knowing Klaus he's planning something diabolical and probably has a plan A, Plan B, Plan C and so on and so on."

Rebekah raised an eyebrow at Caroline. "When exactly did you start to know my brother so well. I would think with you always trying to escape his company you wouldn't be so well versed in all things, Klaus."

"We're friends. Friends know things. " Caroline wasn't sure she wanted Rebekah to know just how well she knew Klaus now.

"Since when?" Rebekah asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Enough, Rebekah." Said Klaus, he didn't need Rebekah giving Caroline the third degree. The last thing he wanted was for Caroline to start rethinking their friendship.

Rebekah turned her suspicious gaze to Klaus. Noticing how he stepped closer to Caroline as if to shield her somehow from her questions. She also took notice that Caroline didn't seem bothered by his close proximity or the way he seemed to stand so ready to defend her.

"Can we get back to the plan to rescue Elijah discussion?" Hayley said impatiently.

Rebekah tore her suspicious gaze from Klaus and Caroline and responded to Hayley. "Caroline isn't wrong. Klaus may be a miserable excuse for a sibling but there is none more diabolical."

"And that's only the Plan A, love," Klaus told Hayley. He moved to his desk and took a seat in his chair. "There's always a Plan B."

"And what's plan B?" Asked Hayley, raising her brow questioningly.

Klaus's lips formed into a smirk. "War."

Caroline figured he had another plan and she wasn't the least bit surprised that it involved violence. After all, Klaus's specialty seemed to be tearing down anyone who stood in his way.

* * *

Caroline sat at the island kitchen, her laptop opened in front of her. She was bored and was scrolling through the web but it didn't do anything to alleviate her boredness. Being stuck in this house no matter how large or nice it was had quickly become tiresome and frustrating. She was no homebody. She didn't know how some people were able to sit around and do nothing when it was driving her crazy.

Letting out a long sigh she shut the computer closed and made her way to Klaus's study, she was reaching for the handle when it was pulled open.

"Caroline, sweetheart, what can I do for you?" Klaus eyed her curiously.

"I was hoping to browse through your extensive book collection." Reading a book at this point sounded good to her with how bored she was.

Klaus smiled, stepping aside. "By all means help yourself. Your welcome to read whatever you like."

Caroline entered the study, her arm brushing against his as she brushed past him and she ignored the shiver that went down her spine at the light contact. "Thank you." She walked to the shelf of books and began browsing the titles, running her fingers along the edges and lettering. "I'm so bored I think I'd be happy with just organizing this bookshelf if it wasn't already organized."

"Unfortunately that shelf is already organized. You'll have to make do with reading instead."

Caroline could hear the amusement in his tone and rolled her eyes. "Laugh all you want but you try being cooped up and let's see how long it takes you before you go stir crazy with boredom." She tilted her head at him, noticing he had on his jacket. "Going somewhere?"

"I have to go into the Quarter, try and get Elijah back."

"Good luck. Something tells me Marcel isn't just going to hand him over." Caroline commented. She didn't think Marcel could be that reasonable of a vampire not with the lengths Klaus seemed to be willing to go to get back at him and throw him out of power.

"Let me worry about Marcel and getting Elijah back." He turned to leave but stopped in the doorway. "And do try and stay out of trouble while I'm gone and stay out of the French Quarter."

Caroline quickly turned a glare on him, scowling. "I hate being told what to do." It made her want to do the exact opposite of what she was told even though she knew that was childish of her. She hated that he thought he could tell her what to do and that she would just listen like some obedient lapdog. No one was the boss of her but herself. No one had control over what she did but her.

"I'm just trying to protect you." Klaus stepped toward her drawing closer until he was in her personal space, his hand landing on her forearm and turning her body fully toward him. "This isn't about telling you what to do or controlling you. You're one of the only people I don't want to control."

Caroline hated that he could read her so well. That he knew what was bothering her without her having to come out and say it. She hated it because it spoke of a deeper connection than she wanted to acknowledge existed between them. But still, she felt her glare lessening being drawn in by his words. "Than what's it about?"

"It's about needing you safe." Klaus stared at her intensely, needing her to understand that he didn't just want her to be safe but needing her to stay safe for his sanity's sake.

"I can protect myself," Caroline said, meeting his intense gaze with a determined one of her own even if his words caused a warm feeling in her stomach and the way he was looking at her made her feel like every nerve ending in her body was about to come alive.

"I don't doubt that you can protect yourself, Caroline. You're strong, I know that but the vampires and witches of New Orleans are a whole different ball game than what you're used to in Mystic Falls."

Caroline frowned if that were the case why not train her to be better, faster, stronger, where she would be able to handle her own against the supernatural of New Orleans. "Then train me to take them on."

"No." Klaus's response was immediate. "I won't put you in harm's way."

Caroline glared at him. "These arguments won't always work," she warned.

"When this is all over and I have control of the French Quarter you can go wherever you like whenever you please. You'll be free to do as you wish as long as it doesn't jeopardize your safety." He hoped when this was over she would want to stay here in New Orleans.

While Caroline appreciated he wanted her safe kind of like how Stefan was always trying to keep Elena safe but that didn't mean she had to like it. "I'm not a damsel, Klaus. I can handle myself."

"I know but your safety is my priority right now."

Caroline opened her mouth to respond but snapped it shut as he leaned in, her breath caught in the back of her throat at his very near proximity. His lips were just inches away from her own.

Klaus watched her closely before leaning forward the rest of the way and brushing his lips against her cheek and pulling back slowly, watching as her eyes fluttered. It was a relief to him that he seemed to have somewhat an effect on her. Sometimes it was hard to tell with how she constantly brushed aside their connection in the past.

Klaus knew she was aware of the effect she had on him but he didn't believe she was fully aware of just how strong of an effect she did have. If she was anyone else he would worry she would use that to her advantage but Caroline wasn't like that. Not really. Well besides the times she played the blonde distraction but other than that she wasn't one for duplicity. Something he was increasingly grateful for as his feelings for her only intensified with time.

"I'll be back." he placed his hand against her neck, the pad of his thumb, caressing over her pulse point. "Remember what I said. I need you to remain safe." He dropped his hand and strode out of the study.

Caroline watched him go, the skin of her cheek tingling where his lips had met, her neck warm from his touch. She took a slow breath, trying to regain control of her reactions. She shook her head trying to remember when she had started responding to him in such a way. When did he start to have an effect on her with something as simple as his words or a simple touch?

* * *

Marcel stood in a suit, getting fitted for a suit for the party he was throwing. He was accompanied by Thierry one of his most trusted daylighters.

"Damn, I do look good in a suit." Marcel boasted, pleased with his appearance.

Thierry chuckled but turned to the television that was running a news segment, photos of Tina Mcgreevy and Joshua Rosza were being shown. "My guy at the docks is gonna come forward as an eyewitness, saying he saw those two drunkenly fall into the Mississipi." He informed Marcel. "They'll be dredging for weeks. No one will come looking around here."

"That's good, considering one's dead in a dumpster behind the county morgue and the other one is a vampire now. Anything else?"

"Ow!" The tailor fitting his suit pricked her finger with a pin accidentally.

"Allow me, darling." Marcel crouched down and took her finger into his mouth, cleaning the blood off, tasting it on his tongue before releasing her and straightening back up.

"One thing." Answered Thierry. "I sent 4 nightwalkers to look into a werewolf sighting in the Quarter. I haven't heard from them since."

"That makes 10 dead nightwalkers in the last week." Marcel frowned, his nightwalkers seemed to be dropping like flies. "You think the werewolves are back in town trying to start some trouble?"

"Look, I know you and Klaus are friends but the fact is since the Originals showed up-"

"Oh, come now, Thierry." Klaus had arrived just moments before at the Abattoire and had overheard the pair's topic of discussion. "You're not still upset about that little, toxic werewolf bite I gave you, are you? I thought we were at bygones."

Thierry ignored Klaus looking to Marcel. "I see you've given him free rein of your compound now." He made no move to hide his disapproval or distrust of Klaus.

Klaus's eyes narrowed. He didn't need free rein of the compound because as it was it belonged to him before it belonged to Marcel. He advanced toward Thierry. "Yes. Well, seeing as my family and I lived here, built the place, in fact-"

"All right. Come on." Said Marcel, getting in between them, he didn't need Thierry challenging Klaus of all people. You don't go around challenging an Original without there being dire consequences to pay. "You both know the drill. Thierry's my guy, inner circle. Klaus is my old-time friend and sire." He focused on Thierry. "He's also a guest here. Peace, all right?" He looked between both of them. "All right."

Thierry conceded, taking a step back.

Marcel turned to Klaus now that it seemed a fight wouldn't break out between the two and focused on his sire. "What do you need, my brother?"

"I'm afraid my sister Rebekah is insisting I demand Elijah's return. She's quite worked up about it."

"I'll say." Responded Marcel.

"We're not gonna have 3 Originals walking around town, are we?" Thierry said in protest. "Half our guys think the sister killed the nightwalkers."

The planes of Klaus's face hardened. "Is that an accusation against an Original?"

"Eh."

Klaus advanced quickly on Thierry, eyes hard and angry. Thierry, however, this time wasn't backing down, looking ready for a confrontation.

Marcel quickly interceded before things could get out of hand. "What did I say about peace?" He asked before addressing Klaus. "Come on. Walk with me."

Klaus shot a smug look at Thierry as Marcel steered him out of the room with Thierry glaring after them.

"Your inner circle man lacks a sense of humor," Klaus stated as they walked out along the balcony of the building.

"He's a little overprotective but loyal to a fault." Said Marcel. He had a lot of guys but Thierry was one of the ones in his inner circle that he trusted most. "I saved his life back in the forties, found him dying of a war wound outside a VA hospital. He'd kill for me and die for me. Plus, that boy can play the trumpet like you would not believe. Maybe I'll see if he can play a little tonight at the party. You're coming, right?"

"How can I miss my chance to meet the city councilman as he accepts your gigantic charitable donation?" Klaus wasn't too keen on the way that Marcel handles the head figures of the city by playing by their ball game, he much preferred instilling fear and intimidation to get what he wanted.

"Oh, he's a schmuck but he lets us do our thing in exchange for certain community services, like keepin' our fangs out of the locals." Said Marcel, sensing Klaus didn't particularly understand why he bothered with the councilman. "Listen, about your brother... I would love to help you out but Thierry is right. My guys are on edge. They see the Original family moving in, vampires dying, it makes them nervous. If I hand Elijah back now, it might give the wrong impression about who's really in charge here. You know what I mean?"

Klaus didn't care what kind of impression it gave. It was only a matter of time before they knew just who was in charge now that he had returned to New Orleans but still he pretended to be civil about the matter, keeping Marcel in the dark of his real intentions. "You understand I had to ask."

It looked like War was the plan he would be going with to get Elijah back. The option he much preferred.

* * *

Caroline had ended up settling on a book of poetry from the shelf but instead of leaving Klaus's study she settled on the couch, paging through the book with a glass of blood.

Now, normally she wasn't one for poetry books. Not really but it was that or biographies and she rather take her chances with poetry than that.

She skimmed through the poems for twenty minutes before tossing the book beside her, taking a decent swallow of her glass of blood before setting it on the table, running her tongue along the seam of her lips for any drop of blood that might have stained them while looking around the room, she stood and walked over to the window behind his desk.

She had to admit that the plantation home was rather beautiful with its large field and rich green grass and apple trees. She turned away from the window and moved toward his desk running her hands over the wood absentmindedly, the papers on top catching her eye.

They didn't seem all that important, some appeared to be documents, there were a few books, she moved things around just to be doing something but when she moved a book aside she revealed a sketchbook.

She paused looking up half-expecting someone to come in and catch her snooping but she knew that wouldn't be the case both Rebekah and Klaus had left. The only other person there was Hayley and they were avoiding each other since last night.

She ran her hand over the sketchpad hesitating. She knew it was wrong but she couldn't help but be curious about what Klaus spent his time sketching. Did he sketch landscapes? Or people? Or abstracts? She started to withdraw her hand away but her curiosity got the best of her and she picked up the sketchpad and flipped it open. The first was of a dark forest, and it seemed to be winding at the end of a road where a ray of light shone, she turned the page and the next sketch was of a figure standing in a dark area, his hand reaching out to a ray of light, she flipped again, and there was a sketch of a lone wolf underneath the light of the full moon.

They were beautiful sketches if not a little dark but she rather thought the one with the lone figure reaching for the light was in between. Like being stuck in the darkness trying to reach out for the light. For hope. Or maybe that was just her interpretation. All the sketches were really well done not that she was surprised, she still had the one he drew of her back home in her dresser.

She didn't know why she kept it. She just couldn't bring herself to get rid of it for some reason.

All his sketches seemed to be good but it was the next sketch that had her breath catching in her throat.

It was of her, she was standing in front of a window, the light catching her face, her blonde hair curling around her shoulders, with loose strands framing her face and she didn't know how since it was only a sketch of her but there seemed to be a glow to her skin, like the air around her was filled with warmth. There was just something so genuine about it.

She turned the page again and there was another sketch, this one she was, sitting at a table, twirling a fork and was mid-laugh. She remembered this as one of the dinners he took her to when he was teaching her how to block her mind off from the invasion of other vampires.

She turned the page again and again and again and each time it was to another sketch of her. Each one detailed and carefully etched, not a single of her features wrong. It was more like he magnified them.

Caroline knew she was beautiful but the girl in the sketches seemed not to have a single flaw, etched to look angelic always in the light. Was this really how Klaus saw her?

"What are you doing?"

Caroline startled, shutting the sketchbook with a snap and dropping it to the table, looking over at Hayley with wide eyes. "Nothing."

"It's a good thing you don't make lying a habit. You suck at it."

"Thanks." Caroline snarked.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I was reading a book," Caroline answered, though she wasn't sure why Hayley was even talking to her since they had been avoiding each other.

"Oh, is that what you were doing?" Asked Hayley doubtfully. "'Cause it look to me like you were snooping."

"I was not snooping." Caroline protested even though that was exactly what she had been doing, her curiosity had gotten the better of her. "I don't know what business it is of yours what I do."

Hayley's eyes lit up. "So you don't like when people pry into your business but you have no problem doing so to others?"

"I don't pry into other peoples business."

"Oh, so you just pry into mine then?"

Caroline glared. "If You have something to say to me the-"

"I definitely have something to say." Hayley cut her off abruptly.

"Then just say it." Caroline hadn't taken Hayley for one to beat around the bush.

"Where the hell do you get off trying to make my decision for me to have this baby?"

"I wasn't trying to make that decision for -"

"Yes, you were." Hayley snapped. "Who do you think you are to try and take that decision away from me. It's my body being used like a damn incubator, not yours. And it's my choice. You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to take that from me. How would you feel if our roles were reversed? If I tried to take that decision from you? How would you feel if you were forced into a situation to have the child of a psychopath who cares absolutely nothing for you whose more than likely going to kill you as soon as you're no longer pregnant? Tell me, Caroline, what would you do then?"

Caroline opened and closed her mouth to say something but stopped because she didn't know what she would do if she was in Hayley's shoes.

Hayley nodded. "That's what I thought so next time you want to run your mouth off about things you don't understand, do us both a favor and don't."

Caroline watched as she turned and left the doorway, her words running through Caroline's head.

She never meant to try and make any kind of choice for Hayley. At least she didn't think she did, did she?

* * *

Rebekah held her cell to her ear as she walked through the Quarter her patience wearing thin. "Niklaus, for the love of Mary Magdalene, how long does it take to ask a simple question?"

 _"Much longer than you'd think, considering the answer was as expected, 'no'."_ Klaus had returned to the mansion earlier and had headed straight for the cellar where the new transitioned tourist was being kept. _"Marcel's man, Thierry, is suspicious. He thinks you killed 10 nightwalkers."_

"Well, that's a lie. I only killed 8." she said flippantly. "Should I make Thierry the ninth?"

 _"Marcel is playing friendly. We can't kill the favorite son or he'll catch onto us."_ Klaus rationalized as much as he would love to rip the disrespectful bastards head off, it would ruin his plans.

"So, war it is, then." Replied Rebekah.

 _"Indeed."_ Agreed Klaus. _"Do you know what to do with the witch?"_

"I believe I do." Said Rebekah.

 _"Good. You manage Sophie Deveraux. I'll take care of the next step._ " He hung up his phone and turned to the vampire Joshua who has been minding the vampire Klaus had taken hostage the night before. One of Marcel's many nightwalkers. "I ordered you to drain him of blood. What's taking so long?"

"Sorry." Said Joshua looking uncomfortable with the situation. "I'm not, like, medieval torture expert guy."

Klaus snatched the pitchfork Joshua had in his hands and stabbed it into the vampire, impaling him harshly with it. He didn't have time for a baby vamps hesitant approach to torture. He needed things to get done.

Joshua cringed at the brutal action. "What did he do to you, anyway?"

"It's not about what he did. It's about what's he going to do when we're done here, which is whatever I want him to, just like you." He yanked on the pitchfork ripping it out of the vampire's flesh. "For example, drive this through his torso." He compelled handing him the pitchfork.

And Joshua immediately obeyed even though he didn't want to, stabbing the sharp weapon into the vampire's torso. "That is crazy. I didn't want to do it, but I did it anyway."

"It's called mind compulsion. Vampires can compel humans. Originals, like my siblings and I, can also compel vampires, and no one can compel Originals. You following?" Joshua nodded at Klaus's explanation. "Good. That is how a brand-new nightwalker such as yourself is here doing my bidding with no one the wiser."

Joshua's face scrunched up in confusion. "But I never had my guts drained out of me."

"Yes. That young, Joshua, is because I got to you before you had even a drop of herbal vervain in your system." Said Klaus before going on to explain. "You see, it prevents compulsion. Marcel has had his whole crew taking it since I returned to town and that is why our friend here needs to be bled dry of it, so I can compel him to follow my every command. And with my brother currently in captivity awaiting rescue, we can't afford to be gentle about it, can we?" Klaus took the pitchfork back and rammed it into the vampire, giving it a violent twist.

Joshua couldn't help but cringe in sympathy for the other vampire.

* * *

Rebekah waited outside the shop where Hayley had gone to the other day, she turned to greet Sophie as she approached her on the sidewalk. "Oh, so glad you could make it. Elijah only lies daggered and rotting whilst you dilly-dally."

"You're lucky I came at all," Sophie responded disgruntled. "What do you want?"

"Hayley was attacked last night by Marcel's crew last night because somebody told him there was a werewolf in the Quarter." Whoever it was was going to regret it. "She only made one stop. Whoever saw her here ratted her out. Watch and learn." Rebekah turned on her heel and strode into the shop, Sophie following her inside.

"Hey, Soph." Said Katie, the young woman, when she noticed her after emerging from the back room of the store.

"Hey, Katie." Sophie returned.

Rebekah moved around the store touching things here and there. Katie noticed the blonde but made no sign of recognizing her. "That's filled with marigold - great for attracting the opposite sex," Kaite said, noticing Rebekah touching a necklace hanging from the shop. "It would look awesome on you."

"I very seriously doubt that." Rebekah dismissed, focusing on the witch. "Do you have any others, one with, say - I don't know - wolfsbane, perhaps?"

"Wolfsbane?" Katie repeated, going rigid as alarms started to go off in her head. It couldn't be a coincidence after that pregnant wolf girl yesterday. "Why would you want that?"

Rebekah vamp rushed her, her hands wrapped around her throat, lifting her into the air. "Please do not play dumb with me." She slammed her down onto a table.

"Rebekah!" Sophie exclaimed, worried for Katie.

"I just sold a werewolf some herbs. That's all." Katie confessed when confronted with Rebekah's ire.

"Are you lying to me, Katie?" Rebekah tightened her hand around Katie's throat threateningly. "I suggest you answer my question honestly."

Katie started to choke in earnest. "Sophie-"

"Just answer the question, Katie, please." Sophie pleaded, not wanting to watch Rebekah kill her, there wouldn't be much she could do to stop it from happening.

"Yes. I told someone, but you don't understand." Katie pleaded. "I - I love him."

Rebekah lifted Katie from the table and threw her to the floor violently, placing the heel of her stiletto directly over Katie's throat, her threat clear. "And tell me, who is this vampire Romeo of yours?" Katie clamped her mouth shut, not wanting to say anything. "Shall I count to 3?" Said Rebekah warningly.

* * *

Klaus's phone buzzed as he pulled the pitchfork from the nightwalkers body, handing it to Joshua. "Be quick about it. I have an army to build and one compelled minion does not an army make."

He pulled out his phone, swiping his thumb over the screen and placing it to his ear. "Well?" He asked expectantly.

 _"You were right about the traitor,"_ Rebekah informed him. _"Luckily, she's just a kid and she doesn't know anything about us and what we're up to. Do you want to hear the part that's gonna please you the most?"_

"Oh, do tell." He did love being right.

 _"She's in love with someone in Marcel's inner circle. Guess who it is?"_

"Right-hand-man type, favors silly caps?" He guessed.

 _"Two points for you._ " Rebekah quipped. " _Thierry is fraternizing with the enemy."_

"Well, that means he just unwittingly became the key to our entire plan." Klaus rather like the turn of events. He had wanted to kill Thierry earlier but this? This might be better.

 _"I told you you'd be pleased."_

And Klaus didn't have to see her to know she was smirking. "Oh, to be young and in love in a city where witches and vampires are at war." His signature smirk sliding into place. "How very tragic."

* * *

Shortly after talking with Hayley Caroline had left Klaus's study returning to her room. Hayley's words had run on an endless loop in her head and she couldn't stop going over it in her head.

She had thought back to her argument with her about her decision to get rid of the baby and the more she thought about it the more she realized Hayley was right.

Who was she to try and make that decision for Hayley? She had let her anger get the better of her and acted like a judgmental bitch. God, she was horrible with the things she said. She thought back to everything she said and she had practically bullied Hayley about her choice. A choice that was Hayley's choice to make and hers alone.

Caroline wasn't sure what was worse the things she had said or the fact that she had wanted to hit Hayley knowing she was pregnant. She was a terrible person. She wanted to apologize but she didn't know how. How did one go about apologizing for something like this? Hell, if she was Hayley, she wouldn't want no damn apology. She didn't believe Hayley would want one either.

One of the worse things was that Caroline knew her reaction had nothing to do with Hayley's choice but more about her. Everything she said had come from a selfish place.

And she hated that she was that girl. The one who was judgmental and righteous and thought she was so much better than everyone. She did not want to be that girl.

And she knew part of her reaction had to do with Klaus. They were growing closer and despite who he was she was becoming more protective of him. But friends were protective of each other and they were getting back to being friends like before. And okay, admittedly there might be something there between her and Klaus that she just wasn't ready to explore. Maybe a part of her reaction had to deal with a bit of jealousy not that she would admit that to anyone but herself.

Speaking of Klaus he had heard him return earlier and she could now hear Rebekah as well and there was the voice of Sophie Deveraux. God, she hated that witch. She was the reason she was still in New Orleans in the first place.

Caroline followed the sound of the voices but stopped when she saw Hayley just outside the door, listening in on the conversation taking place behind closed doors.

Hayley turned her head to look at her as she walked to stand just a few inches to her left. Her eyes instantly hardening into a glare not that Caroline could blame her.

Caroline said nothing but instead started to listen to what was being said, curious to what was being discussed between the three in the room.

* * *

"Are you out of your mind? No way." Sophie protested.

"It's very simple. We need you to perform a teeny, tiny locator spell to help us find our brother." Rebekah told her not seeing what the big deal was about her doing a simple Locator spell. Witches used the spell all the time.

"Witches who practice magic in this town get caught and they get killed." Sophie was not risking her life so they could get their brother back when they were the ones to hand him over in the first place.

"Yes, about that. It seems you left out a crucial detail when we made our deal. Marcel's secret weapon, the way he knows when a witch is using magic." Klaus leveled her with a look. It was pretty convenient that she just happened to failed to mention that bit of useful information.

Sophie stared back blankly as if she didn't have a clue about what he was talking about.

"Girl about yay high," Rebekah raised her hand to a certain point indicating the girl's height. "Cute as a button, anger issues."

Sophie's eyes widened, they couldn't mean who she thought, could they? "Davina? Where have you seen her?"

"I don't know," Rebekah stated. "The little brat erased my memory right after she threw me out a window with her bloody mind."

"Let me cut to the chase." Klaus did not have the patience currently to beat around the bush. "Divina has Elijah. You witches, I assume want to get Davina away from Marcel. We don't know where she is. Ergo, we need magic."

"Divina would sense it," Sophie claimed if she even attempted to do a spell Marcel would know.

"Unless, of course, another witch - say, a traitor to the cause, Katie for example - was to perform much more powerful magic at the same time," Rebekah suggested leadingly. "That would create a smokescreen, concealing your very small spell from Davina."

"Katie doesn't deserve to die." Sophie protested. Could she really sentence her friend to death? Did they actually think she could do that to her?

Klaus felt his anger rise to the surface with the witch, slamming his hands angrily on the table and standing up from his seat. "Sophie Deveraux. You're in no position to be so principled. You can't win a war without a few strategic losses, no matter how regrettable they may be. How many times have the vampires been one step ahead, knowing something they shouldn't? Your sister, executed in the public square for practicing magic, who knew she'd be caught? Did she even attempt to flee?"

Sophie didn't appreciate her late sister, Jane-Anne, being brought into this. "She was caught hiding in a cargo hold of a freighter before it set sail down the Mississippi."

"And who, pray tell, of Marcel's valued inner circle manages his business at the docks?" Klaus asked her pointedly.

"Katie's boyfriend, Thierry."

* * *

Caroline had listened to every word that was exchanged. The plan to use Katie and this Thierry in their plot despite that it was morally questionable sounded like a good one none the less.

Caroline glanced briefly at Hayley trying to gauge her reaction to the plan but she didn't appear all that bothered by it. In fact, she seemed rather invested in getting Elijah back which Caroline wasn't sure she understood. She didn't think the two knew each other all that well before this.

Hayley noticing Caroline watching her sent the blonde a glare. If Caroline had something to say to her she should just say it instead of watching her.

Caroline shook her head, practically seeing the challenge in Hayley's eyes, she didn't feel like getting into yet another argument with her. She was still trying to figure out a way to apologize for saying the things she did that she had no right butting her nose into like it was her business. She didn't need to add more things to the list of things she needed to apologize to her for. And she undoubtedly would because lately, Hayley seemed to bring out the worse in her.

She looked forward and knocked on the closed door.

Hayley's eyes widened and she quickly backed up from the door just as the door opened.

Caroline looked away just as Klaus pulled the door opened, his face drawn down into a frown when he pulled it open, looking like he was ready to snap at whoever dared knocked when they were busy plotting but when he saw it was her the muscles of his body relaxed. "Caroline."

"Is this a closed meeting or-" she trailed off as Klaus grasped her arm and gave her arm a tug before she could finish asking, pulling her into the room.

"You don't need to ask," Klaus told her, ushering her into the room.

"Nik, we don't have time for this." Rebekah frowned at Caroline. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something."

"Yes because I was listening in," Caroline responded candidly. "So are you going with the plan to set Katie and Thierry up?"

"Let me guess, you have a problem with my plan?" Asked Rebekah.

If they were in Mystic Falls she probably would have but that had more to do with what her friends would think of her going along with a plan like this than anything else. She felt a little bad about setting a somewhat innocent girl up but said girl had also sold a pregnant girl out so then again she didn't feel all that bad. Who sells out a pregnant girl, werewolf or not.

"Actually, it sounds like a pretty good one." She told Rebekah and watched as her brows arch in surprise. "But how sure are you that this plan will work?"

"There's no guarantee in a plan like this." Said Sophie. "It's gonna be a gamble."

Caroline, for the most part, had been ignoring the witch's presence. "I wasn't asking you." she glared, just seeing Sophie made her angry for keeping her here through her stupid linking spell.

"If the plan goes the way we want, love, you have nothing to be concerned about," Klaus said as he led her to his previous seat and motioned for her to take the seat.

Caroline sat down and looked from Rebekah to Klaus. "So how are you going to go about it?"

Klaus and Rebekah shared a look. "I've got that handled." Said Klaus.

Rebekah was a little surprised that Caroline didn't seem to object more to her plan. It seemed being away from Mystic Falls was making her less of a goody-goody. And Rebekah thought it was making her a bit more tolerable than before not having to deal with her judgments.

Perhaps Caroline was finally breaking free of the chains that kept her from being what she wanted to be without thinking about other peoples opinions or judgments.

* * *

Klaus stood with Marcel at the Abattoire watching as Thierry played the trumpet in the courtyard.

"You're right. He's good." Klaus admitted which was a shame since Thierry was destined to be nothing but a pawn for tonight's plan.

"Right?" Asked Marcel in response. "Music Man, I call him. Ladies love him but he's spoken for. He knocks around with this pretty little witch, says he loves her but I don't know."

"Your brightest soldier is fraternizing with your enemy and you don't care." Klaus found that a little hard to believe.

"Well, of course, I care but Thierry is a grown man. He makes his own choices and I get some good intel." Marcel admitted. "Besides, he's not gonna do anything to jeopardize what we're doing here. I mean, check this out - a vampire hosting a ritzy charity event. We have a community here. No one's gonna mess that up."

"Still... You don't want the witches to get too bold, given that a witch's tip about a werewolf in town led to the disappearance of your nightwalkers." Klaus said leadingly. "I'm sure you've considered the possibility that it could've been a trap."

Marcel thought his words over. "Well, maybe I'll send a little message." He decided. "Thierry!" He called down to the man. "Take a team of nightwalkers to the Cauldron tonight, do a little rousting... Oh, and Thierry? Make it nasty."

Klaus's eyes lit up with triumph but he refrained from outright smirking that Marcel was doing what he wanted.

Theirry looked conflicted at the order and glared distrustingly at Klaus but knew he would do as Marcel wanted regardless.

* * *

Klaus sat at his desk perusing through some papers when his phone started buzzing. He picked it up. "Little sister."

 _"Well, brother, I believe I've made certain Marcel will be properly distracted tonight."_

"Dare I ask?"

 _"Let's just say his attention will not be on us."_ Rebekah couldn't see what Marcel saw in the bartender Cami, she didn't seem anything special, just another human. _"I did my bit. What are you doing to ensure Elijah's safe return?"_

"Currently, I'm preparing insurance against the tender-hearted."

 _"Meaning?"_ Rebekah asked.

"We need proper motivation for Katie to cast a powerful spell tonight. I'm creating that motivation. Marcel has ordered a rousting of the witches." It hadn't been difficult at all to manipulate Marcel to give the order. "And I, in turn. have arranged for things to go tragically wrong."

* * *

 _Klaus stood in front of his nightwalker hostage with Joshua closeby in the cellar. "You understand what you're to do?" The nightwalker nodded. "Good."_

* * *

"Marcel may not be concerned with Thierry's romantic entanglements..." He paused. "But there are other crimes which he'll be less inclined to so easily forgive..."

If Thierry and Katie truly loved one another than the rousting would take a deadly turn, playing right into his plans.

"Killing a vampire, for example. That would be unforgivable. If Katie hopes to save her one true love from Marcel's punishment, well, a rescue mission like that will require something positively magical. But then... what's worth dying for, if not love?"

* * *

Caroline sat at the grand piano, her hands drifting over the keys. She glanced up at her computer that she had on top of the surface, watching the tutorial video of how to learn to play the piano.

She made a face when she hit the wrong key. Playing the piano was a lot harder than it looked.

"I wasn't aware playing the piano was one of your talents."

Caroline looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of Klaus in a black suit, holding a black devil masquerade mask in his hand. She had forgotten how close to perfect he looked in formal wear. "Are you heading out?"

"Yeah, Rebekah and I are attending Marcel's charity ball." He paused. "Did I forget to mention that?"

"You might have a but you've been busy planning the set up of Terry?"

"Thierry." Klaus corrected with a smirk. "You know, I thought you would have problems with this plan."

"The last time I butted into something that wasn't my business I ended up digging myself a very deep hole of being a horrible person."

"You could never be a horrible person, Caroline." Klaus didn't know why Caroline would think she was a horrible person and he didn't need to because there was nothing that would make him think she was a horrible person.

Caroline pursed her lips at that in disagreement. He clearly had her on some kind of pedestal or something. She looked away from him.

"So how do I look?"

Caroline looked back at him. "Annoyingly perfect."

Klaus gave a laugh remembering the last time she said those words to him. "Does that mean you can't even look at me?"

"Yes." Caroline nodded, fighting back a smile. "So much so that you should just be on your way now."

Klaus gave a laugh, walking over to her, leaning down without hesitation, and brushing a kiss against her cheek. "Have fun with teaching yourself to play piano, Love."

Caroline watched him, turn and disappear out the doorway, she looked back to the piano. "Easier said than done." She muttered.

She tried to focus on her task, pressing the keys but she couldn't focus and they were out of tune. She had been trying to think of a way to apologize to Hayley and show that she truly meant it but couldn't come up with anything to make her believe she was sincere but finding out Rebekah and Klaus would be out for the night an idea was forming in her head.

The sound of heels clicking on the floor sounded and she looked up to see Rebekah in the doorway dressed in a gorgeous black dress. "You can really pull black off." She complimented without meaning to.

Rebekah paused, raising her right brow in surprise. "Thank you but I look good in anything I choose to wear." She nodded her head at the piano. "You don't play very well."

"I was attempting to self-teach myself to play, it's not going so well." She frowned. "The downsides to being stuck inside is boredom."

"I think you can find better use of your time than this." Rebekah walked further into the room."If you don't want to be stuck here than don't be. Unless you don't have a problem with following orders from my brother like a good little pet."

Caroline bristled. "I'm no one's pet and I don't follow anyone's orders."

"Could've fooled me," Rebekah smirked. "Staying locked away here like a little damsel."

Caroline stood, glaring. "You don't know what you're talking about. That's not me. I'm not some scared little girl. I'm not that person anymore and I haven't been since I became a vampire."

"Prove it then." Said Rebekah. "You can either help us when it is needed or you can hide away here like some weak baby vampire. It's your choice, Caroline."

Caroline watched her turn and leave with those parting words. Caroline shutdown her laptop, Rebekah's words running through her mind. She hated hiding away here and she knew that if Klaus thought he could get away with it he would probably lock her in a padded room with guards while saying it was all to keep her safe. Rebekah was right she was being hidden away like a damsel and that wasn't who she was and wasn't who she wanted to be. So the only question was what was she willing to do about it?

Caroline waited a good twenty minutes after Klaus and Rebekah left before heading up the stairs, she walked past her room and stopped at the next door, grasping the handle. Did she really want to do this? She wanted to do something to make up for the things she said to Hayley and she felt this was the only way. And with that thought she tightened her hand on the doorknob, turning it and pushing the door open.

She stepped into the room, pausing in the middle of the room, glancing around, she didn't know what she expected Klaus's room to look like. It wasn't like this was the first time she ever been in his bedroom before well she hadn't been in this one but it was different from the one she been in of the MIkaelson mansion of Mystic Falls.

She moved forward, her eyes skimming over the furniture and walls, past the bed. She had no idea where to look for what she was looking for hoping Klaus hadn't had time to get rid of it, her eyes slide to the dresser, trying to figure out where to start looking.

Her eyes widened when the object she came to find was on his dresser in the open, she walked forward, eyes on the small vial. She grasped at the vial not about to question her fortunate luck assuming Klaus had planned to get rid of it which is why it was out in the open but hadn't found the time to do so with all that was going on.

She glanced around Klaus's room and then back at the vial in her hand. She knew Klaus would see this as an act of betrayal or taking advantage of his trust in her when she was probably the only person he trusted to be honest with him since he rarely trusted anyone but she couldn't let that stop her.

Hayley had the right to make the choice for herself what she wanted without the threat of Klaus. Without her misplaced judgment. This was Hayley's life and she had every right to make the choice for herself if she wanted to have the baby or not and no one else's.

So with that thought in mind, she pocketed the small vial of wolfsbane into her jean pocket and slipped out of the room.

* * *

 **A/N: So I hope this clears up some of Caroline's reaction to Hayley trying to end the pregnancy.**

 **I hope you at least liked the chapter. Review if you feel like it.**


	13. Chapter 13

**a/N: There is a scene with Hayley and Caroline sort of having a heart to heart, just to clear up some stuff from the last two chapters with their issues. Secondly, there is more mention of Caroline experiences of being compelled by Damon when she was still human. [Just wanted to warn you if that is something you're not interested in reading.]**

 **There's not much Klaroline interaction in this chapter but there's more in the next one. I hope you like this chapter.**

* * *

Rebekah and Klaus entered the party, arm in arm, taking in the dark, wild atmosphere, above them acrobats performed, dancers handling exotic animals and confetti fell glittering upon the party guests.

"Well, this certainly is a fitting backdrop for tonight's events, I must say," Klaus commented before spotting the familiar blonde bartender, Cami as she entered the party, she wore white angel wings and a vintage white beaded dress.

Rebekah smiled pleased that the bartender accepted her invitation.

"What's she doing here?" Klaus asked her.

"Marcel seems to share your penchant for blonde's." Replied Rebekah. "Besides what better way to distract Marcel than to put his very human, new girl in a room full of vampires?" Rebekah crossed the courtyard, stopping in front of Cami to greet her. "Hello, darling. You look precious."

Marcel stood looking down on the courtyard, noticing Cami immediately.

"This party is ridiculous." Commented Cami, her eyes landed on Klaus and she nodded at him. "Is he the infamous on-again, off-again?" She asked Rebekah referring to the talk they had earlier when Rebekah had invited her.

"He's the brother, actually and my sister is right." Klaus moved forward to stand beside Rebekah. "You do look stunning."

"You clean up pretty well yourself." Cami complimented.

Klaus couldn't help but think about Caroline's words to him earlier, that he looked annoyingly perfect and fought off a smile. "Well, don't be fooled, love. I'm the devil in disguise."

"You two chit-chat." Said Rebekah. "I need booze."

"Shall we?" Asked Klaus.

"Okay." Cami smiled as Klaus offered his arm and took it as Rebekah approached the bar.

"Scotch please," Rebekah told the bartender and sighing a moment later feeling Marcel coming up beside her.

"You trying to be cute, inviting her here?"

"I think she's darling. I can tell you fancy her pure heart." Though Rebekah didn't really see the appeal. "Perhaps I'll feed it to you."

"Hmm. Jealousy looks good on you, Bekah."

Rebekah scoffed, taking her drink from the bartender. Her jealous of some human? What did she have to be jealous of? She didn't have to know the human to know she was better than her. Jealous? Yeah, right.

Across the courtyard, Cami watched Rebekah with Marcel. "The guy of her's Rebekah was talking about... I'm sensing that would be Marcel."

"I Wouldn't worry about it." Klaus dismissed. "Ancient history."

Cami looked away from the pair at the bar, turning fully to Klaus. "I'm beginning to think your sister is a bit of a bitch."

Klaus laughed. If only Cami knew how true that was. "It's as though she invented the term."

Cami stared at him being drawn to him for a moment.

Klaus paused, noticing the way she seemed to stare at him, he looked away when he saw Marcel begin to approach them. "Listen. Pardon me for a moment." He quickly made his exit glad to see Rebekah's plan seemed to be working as Marcel greeted Cami.

He was also glad for the excuse to leave, he didn't need or want Cami getting any unfound assumptions or reading into something between them that wasn't there.

* * *

Caroline walked through the house in search of Hayley. She had checked the second floor but couldn't find her, she had just about been through the first floor and still couldn't find her. If she was still avoiding her she wouldn't be surprised.

Once she finished checking the first floor and still did not find Hayley, she decided to check around outside, making her way out toward the pool and spotting Hayley, she seemed to be looking at something near the trees.

"Hayley."

Hayley whirled around at the sound of Caroline's voice. "What?" She snapped at the sight of the blonde.

"I was hoping I could talk to you for a moment." Said Caroline, forging ahead and not letting Hayley's attitude and anger get to her because Hayley was completely entitled to her anger against her. "Do you have a minute?"

Hayley opened her mouth about to tell Caroline she had nothing more to say to her and didn't want to hear anything she had to say if it had anything to do with her pregnancy but another voice had them both whirling around.

"You're not supposed to be out here." Said a pretty young woman. "Neither of you." She cast a look at Caroline before focusing on Hayley.

Caroline instantly moved to stand protectively beside Hayley.

"Who are you?" Asked Hayley, shooting Caroline an odd look when she took a protective stance near her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Sabine. We met. I'm one of Sophie's friends."

Caroline glared at the mention of Sophie's name and eyed the woman distrustfully.

"You're one of the witches." Hayley realized.

"Sophie just asked me to come keep you company while everyone's out."

That did not make Caroline feel the least bit reassured about the witches presence.

"You know, it's drawn to you." Sabine continued, nodding at where the wolf stood to stand.

Hayley glanced back at the wolf.

Caroline brow furrowed as she caught sight of the wolf, her eyes narrowing as she saw the wolf watching her with what appeared to be a glare, like it thought she would attack Hayley.

"Not fond of vampires though." Said Sabine.

Caroline looked back at her. "Clearly."

"Well, you are mortal enemies." Said Sabine before looking at Hayley again. "The child you're carrying is part vampire, part werewolf. You and Klaus made something special."

Caroline's stomach twisted uncomfortably at the words but she shoved it down refusing to let her jealousy get the better of her again.

"You sound like Elijah." Responded Hayley. "He thinks this baby is going to make us one big, happy family but now he's gone and I don't know what... 'it' is."

"You know, I can do something about that if you want." Sabine offered. "I mean, find out if it's a boy or girl."

"I thought you couldn't do witchy stuff around here." Said Hayley.

"It's not magic, just an old trick my grandmother taught me."

Hayley looked at her hesitantly.

"Come on. You have to be a little curious." Insisted Sabine at Hayley's hesitancy.

Caroline glared at the witch. "You don't have to do anything because she said so," Caroline told Hayley. "It's your choice."

"So now it's my choice?" Hayley scoffed at her.

"Okay, I deserved that," Caroline admitted. "But these New Orlean witches aren't exactly trustworthy."

"I'm not going to try anything to hurt her." Said Sabine. "But if it'll make you feel better you're free to stay with her."

Caroline eyed her distrustfully before turning to Hayley. "It's your decision. I may be late in saying this but it's your business, not mine but I won't leave you alone with her." Her experience with New Orlean witches had been nothing but bad so far and she didn't trust them. Any of them and she wasn't about to leave Hayley alone with one.

* * *

"You really are a hideously evil little thing, aren't you?" Klaus said to Rebekah, across the courtyard Marcel and Cami were dancing closely.

"Nonsense." Rebekah dismissed. "They're perfect for each other. You wanted Marcel distracted. Voila."

Diego, one of Marcel's inner circle members entered the courtyard with a grave expression heading straight for Marcel, interrupting the dance he was having with Cami just as the pair were leaning in for a kiss.

"That's my cue to leave," said Rebekah, after seeing Diego whisper in Marcel's ear, she slipped away unnoticed.

Klaus watched with rap attention, seeing the barely contained anger on Marcel's face as his eyes landed on Thierry. He watched as Marcel excused himself from Cami before walking over to Thierry and grabbing him by the throat in a show of force, pushing him away from the main party.

"What the hell did you do?" Marcel demanded of Thierry.

"Whoa, not here." Diego interceded. "No, not here."

Marcel backed off knowing he didn't need to cause a scene in front of everyone. Especially Cami who was watching with her brows knitted together.

Klaus smiled. So far so good. Everything was going according to his plan for the most part.

* * *

Marcel took Thierry to the balcony above the party so they could talk a little bit more privately away from all his guest. Theirry was trying to explain the situation on why he had killed one of their own. That he was still loyal, he was still his friend, that that hadn't changed.

Klaus noticed Cami watching on with a look of apprehension and joined her. "Are you all right, love?"

"He's got a temper, doesn't he?" Cami had watched Marcel as he made a display of his anger even now as she watched him on the balcony with his guys and Thierry. "I guess this is the moment I remember I know better." Cami turned, walking away.

Joshua walked up to Klaus, standing slightly behind him, trying not to draw anyone's notice. Klaus reached into his coat's inner pocket withdrawing a folded piece of paper and handing it to Joshua who pocketed it and walked away.

Klaus watched the balcony as Joshua made his way next to Marcel and handed him the folded piece of paper. "We found this at his girl's place," Joshua informed Marcel.

Marcel unfolded the piece of paper, his frown deepening as he realized it was a spell that he kept to himself. He turned back to Theirry. "Still my friend, huh? That's funny because it looks like that little witch of yours got her hands on a spell that I keep locked away."

"Marcel, I have never seen that." Said Thierry, he didn't know where it came from but it couldn't have come from Katie.

"Shut up," Marcel ordered. "I see on your hand, you still have the daylight ring I gave you. So what would you need with the recipe for making new ones? Unless maybe you and Katie were gonna go off and start a little kingdom of your own?"

"Marcel, no." Thierry protested. He wouldn't do something like that. He wouldn't betray Marcel.

"Here's a lesson in friendship. Friends don't lie to me, they don't break my rules and they do not steal what is mine." Marcel turned, needing to take a moment for what he was about to do, he turned back. "For the crime of murdering one of his own, I sentence Thierry Vanchure to 100 years in the Garden."

Klaus smiled to himself, watching from below in the courtyard. "And it begins..."

* * *

When Rebekah appeared in the cemetery she saw Sophie was preparing the locator spell who looked up upon Rebekah's arrival.

"You're doing the right thing. It's the only way to find Elijah." Rebekah told her, finding Elijah was the priority.

"I'm doing what I have to." Said Sophie, a lot of what she's done had been not because she wanted to but because she had to. Sophie turned back and started to chant.

* * *

Klaus watched as Marcel's men led Thierry out of the party and out onto the street where a small crowd of more vampires watched Katie approach from down the street chanting.

Klaus moved, watching from a window above the events he put into motion unfold.

"Katie, no!" Thierry said with fear that she was going to get herself killed.

"Like clockwork." Stated Klaus.

Katie ignored Thierry's protest, she wasn't going to let Marcel sentence him to a fate such as the Gardens. She loved him and she was going to do whatever she had to protect him. She waved her arms and a street light exploded, sparking, all the vampires crowded on the street grabbed their heads, falling to their knees in pain.

Marcel had fallen to the ground in pain but pushed back to his feet when no one else was able tofacing Katie but another light exploded as she amplified her magic causing Marcel to go down again.

* * *

In the cemetery, Sophie continued to chant her locator spell.

"Hurry." Rebekah urged, who knew how much time they had left to get this done.

* * *

Davina had awoken from her bed the moment she felt someone using magic and immediately began drawing on an easel, the face she was drawing taking shape.

* * *

Marcel pushed through the pain, getting back to his feet and struggling his way toward the raging witch but Katie focused her magic on him and his bones began to break beneath the force of her magic, he collapsed again, shouting in pain.

* * *

"NO!" Davina shouted from where Marcel kept her hidden. She lifted her hands slowly.

* * *

Marcel felt Davina's magic give him strength and he rose again, pushing to his feet.

Katie stared at him astonished. How was he able to keep standing?

"You're here to save your man. Well, come on, little girl!" Marcel growled feeling empowered by Davina's magic he advanced to attack her but Katie acted quickly halting him with her magic.

Marcel fell, groaning.

* * *

Davina fell at the same time, her magic failing to keep Marcel on his feet. She was failing him.

* * *

Katie advanced on Marcel, standing over him, lifting a wooden stake, prepared to bring it down and stake him. "Die, you son of a bitch!"

"No!" Thierry shouted. "Katie! Don't!"

But before Katie could bring the stake down, Klaus figuring this was his moment to look like Marcel's savior, swooped in and snapped her neck before she could stake him, allowing her to fall to the ground, dead.

* * *

Abruptly Sophie stopped her magic as she felt the loss of Katie's magic. "Something's wrong. Katie's magic stopped." But she had been so close to locating Davina, if she stopped now it would have been for nothing. "I can keep going."

"You can't. She'll sense it." Rebekah protested.

"No. I can find Davina." Sophie insisted. "I just need another moment."

Rebekah's hand snatched out swiping the paper with black sand on top of it that Sophie was using for the spell and threw it aside. "You may be willing to die to get your witch back but Hayley, the baby, and Caroline will die with you. And if Caroline dies Klaus would go on a raging warpath, he'll paint the streets of New Orleans red with blood starting with the witches. And if something were to happen to the baby Elijah would never forgive us and rescuing him will be for nothing. It's over. We failed."

* * *

Klaus didn't much care as Thierry crawled to his dead witch lover and began to sob over her dead body instead he focused on Marcel, catching his eye who nodded at him.

Marcel knew if it weren't for Klaus in that moment he could have been killed. He owed him.

* * *

After sealing Thierry away in the Garden Marcel met back up with Klaus in the courtyard of the Abortorre. It was deserted, everyone from the party already having gone.

The old friends stood on the balcony having a drink together.

After clinking their drinks together Marcel downed his. "How much did Cami see?"

"She just saw an argument, mate. It's nothing you can't fix. You really like her, don't you?"

"I like that she's not a part of any of this. Sometimes it's good to see the world the way the humans do."

"I am sorry about Thierry, you know?" Said Klaus appearing genuine in his words even if he could care less for the man. "I can tell he was a good friend."

"I made him what he was. Obviously, my trust was misplaced."

"Doesn't make it easier." Said Klaus.

"You saved me tonight. I guess I owe you one. You asked for your brother back. Seems like the least I can do." Said Marcel.

Klaus was careful not to react anything other than appreciative even if he felt a wave of triumph for getting one over Marcel.

* * *

Caroline hesitated outside Hayley's bedroom door but after telling herself this was something she needed to do, she knocked on the door.

She had knocked two more times before it was opened to reveal a freshly showered Hayley, dressed for bed, her hair still wet from her shower. "What do you want now?"

"I was hoping you still had a moment. I was hoping we could talk."

"I have nothing to say to you." Hayley glared if Caroline came to belittle her some more about her choices with this pregnancy than she could shove it.

"Look you don't have to say anything just hear me out and I promise if you want me to never bother you again I won't."

Hayley pondered her words for a moment, before sighing opening her door wider and walking back to her bed taking a seat on it.

Caroline stepped forward, into the room glancing around.

"Well, are you going to say what you came to say or gawk at my room all night?" Hayley said impatiently.

"Right." Said Caroline, looking back to her. "I wanted to apologize for all the things I said."

"You want to apologize." Hayley gave a scoff of disbelief.

"Yes, I want to apologize," Caroline repeated. "I don't expect you to forgive me, hell, I wouldn't forgive me. There's no excuse for the things I said. When I said those things I was being an absolute bitch. It was horrible and disgusting and was beyond judgmental."

"You were." Hayley agreed with a nod. "I don't really care why you said what you did because you still said it but why did you?"

"I..I don't know," Caroline admitted, she moved toward the bed. "Can I?"

Hayley paused but nodded, waving her hand for her to go ahead and have a seat.

Caroline gave a long drawn out sigh as she took a seat, turning toward Hayley so she would be facing her directly. "I guess a part of me is jealous." She hated to admit that.

"Jealous?" Hayley repeated. "About Klaus? Because we were only together one time and its something I've come to regret."

"No, It's not about him, not really." God, why was admitting this so damn hard? "It's more about the pregnancy."

Hayley's brow furrowed in confusion. "The pregnancy?"

"Vampires can't have children. You get to have something that I never will." Caroline looked down at her hands with the confession. "I always thought I would have a family of my own one day but then I became a vampire and the ability to have a family was just gone.." Caroline gave a brittle laugh. "It's crazy, before this I haven't even considered wanting to be a mom, not after becoming a vampire. When I became a vampire I didn't really care that I would never have any children but then you and Klaus happened and it just made me realize that even if I wanted to have children of my own years from now down the line I'll never be able to. So yeah, I'm a bit jealous of you."

"Oh." Hayley wasn't sure how to respond, she hadn't planned on having a heart to heart with Caroline. Heart to hearts wasn't really her thing, to begin with.

"But it still is no excuse for what I said." Caroline continued. "You always have a choice about your own body. Whether you want to continue this pregnancy is up to you."

"But it's not my choice." Said Hayley that had been made pretty clear.

"Yes, it is," Caroline said firmly. "You should have the say in what happens to you. You're not just some incubator. You're a person and you have every right to not continue this pregnancy if it's not something you want." Caroline reached into her pocket and pulled out the vial of wolfsbane. "Which is why I got you this."

Hayley's eyes widened. "Where did you get this?"

"I took it from Klaus," Caroline confessed then added quickly. "Don't worry, I plan on telling him it was me who took it."

"He'll see this as an act of betrayal, you know that, don't you?"

Caroline did and while she didn't like to think of it that way ultimately this wasn't about him. "This isn't about him or me, it's about you. I just want you to know you have options." Caroline held the vial out to her.

Hayley's hand wrapped around the vial. "And what about your life?" Surely Caroline had to care about her own life.

Of course, she didn't want to die but this wasn't about her. "I don't want to die. I mean, who does." She pushed away the fear she felt at the thought of dying as young as she was. "But your decision shouldn't be about me. It should be about what you want." Caroline gave her an apologetic look. "I just want you to know how sorry I am for what I said."

"Why are you going this far for an apology?" Hayley questioned.

Caroline was quiet for a long moment, so long that Hayley didn't think she was going to answer her but then she spoke, her voice holding somber tone.

"I know what it's like to have your choices taken from you." Caroline hated remembering what Damon had done to her when she was human but if anyone knew how important it was to have control over your own life, your own body it was her. "And it's not something I would wish on anyone."

Hayley's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I was compelled repeatedly when I was human," Caroline replied shortly. "I know it's not the same thing but it felt like I had no control over what was happening, kind of like what you're going through. You don't have any control over what's happening to you either."

Hayley opened and closed her mouth and decided to focus on what Caroline had said about being compelled instead of focusing on what she was feeling. "By who? To do what?"

"It's not something I talk about." She replied sharply. With anyone. It was just something she had to force herself to get past for Elena and her friend's sake none of them had seemed to really care what Damon had done to her.

Hayley could see it was really upsetting for her to think about it. She looked down at the vial and knew Caroline giving this to her was a betrayal of Klaus's trust in hopes of showing how sincere she was in her apology. "You're right, I don't forgive you.."

Caroline nodded, she hadn't expected her to forgive her but it still bothered her. She was relieved Hayley let what she just told her go.

"But your apology's a good start."

Caroline looked up in surprise and offered a small smile. "Well, I'm just gonna go now." She stood, stepping toward the door.

"Caroline."

She turned back to Hayley to see her holding the vial of wolfsbane out to her.

"Here, I don't need this."

"Are you sure?" Caroline questioned though she already felt relief that Hayley no longer had any desire to take the wolfsbane. "Is this the choice you want to make?"

"I'm not ending my pregnancy. I don't want too." Hayley looked away from her before turning back to her. "You should just put this back preferably before Klaus realizes its gone."

Caroline took it back but Hayley's suggestion about putting it back before Klaus realized that she took it in the first place just sounded so deceitful, like a further betrayal. She didn't like the thought of being another person who actively set out to betray him.

* * *

Klaus slid into the seat next to Cami at the bar where she was having a drink. "Cami-"

"Don't even try it." Cami interrupted. "I get the bro code. You're here to smooth things over for your friend. It's very nice of you, but-"

"But you've been hurt before and you aren't taking any more chances." He finished knowingly.

"Something like that. The guy I saw tonight - not the guy I thought he was." She admitted. "And if he can turn on a dime like that -"

"Sounds like more than just a broken heart. Someone broke your trust. Camille the brave bartender."

Cami stared at him, feeling like something was there, she swallowed.

The moment she started to lean into him, Klaus looked away from her, breaking her stare and shifting back from her. "I'm sorry... But I need you to give Marcel another chance."

Cami cleared her throat, embarrassed. "Wow. I totally misread that."

"You did, I'm sorry. I already have someone I care about." Klaus tried to put it delicately before continuing. "But you have your role to play." He locked eyes with her as his eyes took on their compelling effect. "You went to Marcel's. You danced. You feelbadly that he had a row with his friend, but otherwise, all you remember is that it was perfect."

* * *

Rebekah sat at the piano, playing a scatter of their notes lazily. Feeling like a failure because everything they had put into motion tonight was pointless. She sat up straighter when Klaus entered the room. "Well, tonight was an epic failure."

"On the contrary, sister. Tonight was a masterpiece." He corrected quite pleased with himself.

"Are you mad?" Rebekah demanded. "Katie died before Sophie could complete the spell."

"Oh, I'm well aware. I killed Katie."

"You what?" Rebekah didn't even know why she was even the least bit surprised. This was just so typical of him.

"There's no way our little suicide witch wasn't gonna try and take out Marcel with her. I saved his life and in doing so, I now have him exactly where I wanted him."

"Sophie trusted you. I trusted you against all my better instincts." Said Rebekah, looking at him in betrayal.

"Wake up, Rebekah." He didn't see why she had to take this personally. What was one dead witch in the grand scheme of things? "The witches are on no one's side but their own. This girl, Davina? That's all they want and when they have her, what do you think happens then, a truce?" He wished his sister would stop being so naive. "Of course not. They will use Davina's power against all of us."

"Even if you're right, the plan was to find Elijah and you've failed us."

"You always did lack faith." He responded. "By protecting Marcel, I've cemented his trust, so much so that he's agreed to return Elijah to us. And when the time is right, when he has told me everything I need to know about Davina, I will have her to myself."

"I have all the faith in the world that you'll get what you want, Nik." Said Rebekah looking at him with contempt and disappointment. "You always do, no matter what it costs the rest of us. You disgust me." She took a sip of the bourbon drink she had on the piano, setting it back on the surface and brushing past him, out the door.

* * *

Davina kneeled in front of an open casket that held Elijah. She heard a door open and looked up to see Marcel, relief filled her as she rushed to him, throwing her arms around him. "You're okay! I was so worried."

"Thank you." Marcel pulled back from the hug after returning it. "Whatever you did, I felt it. You helped me."

"It was the old ones, wasn't it?" She questioned.

"Actually, Klaus is the one that saved me tonight." He walked around her toward the open casket. "I'm gonna make things right, starting off by giving him his brother back."

"No." Davina protested sharply.

"What?" Marcel frowned at her in confusion.

"No," Davina repeated strongly. "You said the old ones were dangerous. I won't give him back until I know how to kill them."

* * *

Hayley sat at the desk in the study a laptop in front of her, the top was open on a few old texts.

Klaus paused in the doorway before stepping into the room. "I thought you might like to know, Elijah's returning to us."

Hayley looked away from the computer at the sound of his voice. "Congratulations. I guess being diabolical has its perks."

"You hardly know him and yet you miss him." It always vexed Klaus how Elijah could draw almost anyone to him. "What is it about my brother that always inspires such instant admiration?"

"He was kind to me," Hayley confessed.

Klaus took that in but had no reply.

"Hey, I learned something today," Hayley called after him when he turned to leave. "I'm having twins."

Klaus turned back to her, he was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact he was going to have one child but now twins? "Twins? How do you know that."

"A witch friend of Sophie's."

Klaus stepped further into the room, focusing on listening to the heartbeats coming from Hayley's abdomen after focusing closely, he heard what he hadn't before because they were beating in almost perfect sync but he heard it. The sound of two separate little heartbeats. His eyes widened and a look of vulnerability quickly crossed his face but it was just a flicker before he nodded at her, turning to leave the room.

"I think one's a girl and one's a boy," Hayley said when he said nothing and instead made to leave.

He paused in the open doorway with his back to Hayley and smiled slowly. He would have liked the thought of having a boy or a girl but because it was twins there was the possibility he would get both. To have a son and a daughter? It was a nice possibility.

* * *

Sophie, Agnes and Sabine and several other witches gathered around Katie's body which they had prepared for her final rites.

"I told you no good would come from this unholy alliance of yours." Said Agnes in disapproval.

"At least I'm doing something." Glared Sophie. "What about you?" She pushed past them and the other witches gathered for Katie's final rites ceremony.

Agnes turned to Sabine once Sophie had gone. "Sabine, tell them what you saw."

"It's the girl's, the pregnant wolf and the blonde baby vampire," Sabine said gravely.

* * *

 _Hayley laid on the kitchen island, her back against the surface. Caroline stood not far from her, eyeing Sabine distrustfully as the witch swung a crystal hanging by a string over Hayley's abdomen._

 _"I think it's a girl." Sabine paused. "No... wait."_

 _"Wait, what? Please tell me I'm not having a mini-Klaus." Hayley just about pleaded._

 _"I think you're going to have a girl and a boy." Said Sabine her brow furrowing._

 _Hayley's eyes widened. "Twins? Are you sure?" That couldn't be right. This wasn't what she had signed up for._

 _"Yeah, I'm sure." Said Sabine, focusing on the two life force growing inside of Hayley's womb._

 _"Why can't they both be girls." Hayley frowned, she couldn't believe she was pregnant with twins and one of them possibly a mini-Klaus. She glanced over at Caroline for her reaction but saw she didn't look the least surprised. "Did you know?"_

 _"I suspected," Caroline admitted. "It's hard to detect if you're not listening closely, their hearts are beating in almost complete sync so it sounds more like just one heartbeat."_

 _"Why haven't you said anything?" Hayley asked accusingly._

 _"I wasn't certain and I didn't want to say anything if I ended up being wrong," Caroline told her. "I would have said something if I was certain."_

 _Hayley looked back toward Sabine. "Are you sure their both not girls?" If she was going to have twins she would rather they both be girls. She hated the thought of possibly having a mini-Klaus in the form of Klaus's son._

 _Sabine didn't even register her question as she focused on the lifeforce of the babies, her eyes narrowing when she registered the babies lifeforce wasn't familiar to Hayley's at all._

 _Sabine couldn't understand how it was possible for the babies lifeforce not to be the least bit familiar to Hayley's. Something wasn't right._

 _"Sabine?" Asked Hayley, noticing her confused expression._

 _"What?" She snapped her gaze up to Hayley._

 _"Is everything okay with the babies?" Caroline asked worriedly, stepping up to the island unconsciously laying her hand on Hayley's arm._

 _Sabine focused on the babies again and suddenly she felt the familiarity in the life forces._

 _"Is everything alright with the babies?" Hayley demanded impatiently._

 _"Yeah, they're fine," Sabine said after a moment. It must have only taken her time to sense the familiarity between the babies and Hayley's lifeforce._

 _Caroline sighed in relief for a second there because of the look on Sabine's face she had thought something was wrong, she looked down and saw her hand was on Hayley. She hadn't even realized she had put it there. She removed her hand quickly. "Sorry."_

 _And just like that, the familiarity Sabine felt between the lifeforce and the babies was gone. She frowned, glancing at Caroline, it had been there when Caroline had her hand on Hayley._

 _She glanced between Hayley and Caroline and her eyes widened. Was it possible?_

 _Sabine subtly focused on Caroline being careful not to show that was what she was doing, her eyes widening at the feel of Caroline's vampire life force. It wasn't Hayley's lifeforce that shared a familiarity with the babies but Caroline's._

 _"Are you sure one's a girl and one's a boy?" Asked Hayley, not picking up on the way Sabine looked between her and Caroline._

 _Sabine focused the crystal back over Hayley with her new discovery when the crystal glinted suddenly in the light and she dropped it, gasping, her eyes rolling back in her head. "Hoc est infantima malom. Nos omnia perditu el eam."_

* * *

Once Klaus had disappeared further into the house Hayley picked back up on the researched she was doing on the laptop before Klaus had appeared in the doorway.

She entered the strange words Sabine had uttered into an online translator but she kept getting no results. She frowned wondering what the words could have meant.

* * *

Caroline had heard Klaus arrive home and was debating whether or not she should go talk to him when a knock sounded on her door, she hesitated a moment knowing it would be him on the other side of the door.

Okay, so here goes nothing. She took a deep solidifying breath and walked to her door pulling it open. "Hey."

"Can I come in?" He gestured to the room.

"Oh, um, right." She stepped to the side allowing him to pass by her, he walked to the center of the room before turning to face her. "So how did the plan go?"

"It went the way we wanted it to." Said Klaus. "With one exception to the plan."

Caroline moved to sit on her bed. "What do you mean?"

"I killed Katie."

"Oh," Caroline said, not sure how to respond. Klaus killing somebody wasn't at all surprising, especially if it helped his agenda. "Did her death mean something? Was there a reason for it or simply because you wanted to?"

Klaus hadn't been expecting that reaction. Truthfully he expected her to tell him what he did was wrong. "She was about to kill Marcel, I saved him and earned his trust. Marcel has agreed to give Elijah back in return."

"Then everything worked out for everyone." Said Caroline. "Well except for Katie."

Klaus moved to sit on her bed leaving a few inches between them not wanting to invade her space if it wasn't what she wanted. "Rebekah wasn't too happy that I killed the witch. To be honest, I didn't think you would be either."

"I'm not happy that's she dead but I don't particularly care for New Orlean witches. They all seem to be working for their own objective not caring who ends up as collateral damage."

"I would never allow you to end up as collateral damage." He swore to her, he sooner wipe out every witch in the city.

Caroline gave a small smile at his words. "Have you talked to Hayley?" She wondered.

"I did." Klaus nodded, he was still coming to terms with the idea of being a father but the idea that he was going to be the father to not one child but two. Twins. It was daunting to him.

"So I guess congratulations are in order." Caroline gave a faint smile.

Klaus paused. "Did anything else happened other than Sabine's little visit?"

Caroline looked up at him, she drew in a steadying breath before removing the vial of Wolfsbane from her pocket and holding it out to him.

Klaus stared at the vial before looking back up at her, the betrayal clear in his eyes. Caroline had to keep herself from visibly flinching back having expected him to feel betrayed.

Klaus grabbed the vial, standing up and striding for the door and Caroline watching him, thought that he was just going to leave without saying something to her but then he whirled around his expression a cold mask, his eyes angry. "What were you doing with this?"

Caroline stood slowly. "I took it from your room."

"Oh, I got that much." He glared, clenching his jaw in anger as he walked quickly back to her, standing just inches away. "Why did you take it?"

Caroline not liking the way he crowded in on her, it was the same thing he did when he wanted to intimidate someone into bending to his will. "You can't intimidate me." She sighed.

"I don't want to intimidate you." He growled. "I want you to answer me."

"I took it to give to Hayley."

Klaus took a step back. "You chose to betray me?"

"This wasn't about betraying you." Caroline shook her head. "Just before you go into a rage about betrayal would you just hear me out for a minute."

"Why bother?" Klaus spat.

"Because I could have just put it back without you ever knowing what I did and you would have never known and we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." She stepped forward, closer to him. "But I wanted to be honest with you. I didn't want to have to lie."

Klaus clenched his jaw, his eyes like steel on her. "I'm listening."

"This wasn't about you and it wasn't necessarily about me either. When I found Hayley buying this in the French Quarter. I said some things that were so out of line. I was cruel." Caroline looked away, feeling a moment of shame. "I basically implied she didn't have any say in what happens to her body."

"Caroline, you're life is tied to the lives of the babies she carries." Klaus frowned at her. "It isn't just her life she should consider. It isn't just about her."

"This shouldn't be about me." Caroline looked back at him. "Of course I don't want to die, I mean, I seriously don't but no one should be forced into this situation. Hayley should have the right to choose for herself. I took it in hopes of showing her that I was sorry for how I reacted and the things I said. I was terrible to her."

"You feel guilty." Said Klaus, watching her carefully.

"Of course I felt guilty. I was horrible to her."

Klaus looked away from her, blowing a breath out through his teeth before looking back at her. "You feel guilty because you care. It's who you are. I can't very well blame you for that."

"Does that mean you're not mad," Caroline asked with a hesitant smile.

"No. Of course, I'm mad." His hand, tightening on the vial.

Caroline's hesitant smile faltered. "Right."

"You once told me I don't connect with people because I don't even try to understand them and maybe you're right but I want to understand you." He paused, his jaw ticking. "I'm trying to."

Caroline nodded, a bit surprised he even remember that word for word.

"Did you give it to Hayley?" Seeing as Caroline still had it he wasn't sure if she did or not or if she just changed her mind.

"I did but she made the choice not to take it. Don't be angry with her for me giving it to her. She had nothing to do with that."

Klaus felt relief that Hayley had decided to not take it on her own. He nodded heading for her bedroom door.

"Klaus," Caroline called just as he opened the door. "I am sorry if I made you feel betrayed. It wasn't what I was trying to do."

Klaus nodded. "I don't take kindly to betrayal and I think you know that. Don't do it again. I would hate to lose trust in you when you're one of the only few people I believe I can trust." It wasn't an order. It was a request. He couldn't handle it if what he thought was something more building between them was brought to nothing. He didn't want to add her to the long list of people who have betrayed him. He turned, closing the door behind him.

Caroline let out a breath and moved back toward her bed, flopping back onto it. That went better than she thought it would. But she feared things might be different now.

Sometimes it was surreal how much things had changed between her and Klaus she could still remember what it was like not to care if Klaus was upset with her or that he trusted her, she had used his feelings for her more than once for the sake of her friend's plots playing the blonde distraction.

But now she cared if he was angry with her, she cared if he felt betrayed by her. She cared about using their friendship as complicated as it was against him.

She hoped that what she did wouldn't change things between them drastically.

Caroline sighed internally. Everything was just so complicated here in New Orleans. Her life was so much simpler when she was still in Mystic Fall. But strangely enough, she was missing Mystic Falls less and less. She mainly missed her mother and well she missed having Stefan around to talk to about things and not be judged for it.

Caroline feared the reason why she wasn't missing home as much as she should be was because of Klaus. And she wasn't sure how to come to terms with that. If she should fight it or for once just do something for her even if that something was growing closer with Klaus.

But she knew on some level it was too late to try and stop that from happening, she had already allowed herself to grow closer to him and she was finding other than being wrapped up in this grudge the witches had against Marcel she didn't regret her growing feelings for him.

* * *

 **A/N:** **As you can see I'm adding some twist to the pregnancy storyline and Caroline's going to play a larger part further on in the story. I've been throwing in some subtle but clear hints. The full reveal will be coming up in a couple chapters from now.**

 **I realize some people may not like the added changes. And while criticism is always welcome I would appreciate it if no one was intentionally hateful about it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Okay, so I wasn't going to update till sometime around Sunday but, Cameronlove, left me such an amazing a review so I figured I update early to show my appreciation. I thought about doing it tomorrow but with it being my birthday tomorrow I doubt would have the time. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! **

**A quick thank you to everyone has reviewed, favorited or followed this story. It keeps me inspired to continue writing, Well that and I just love writing Klaroline.**

 **I apologize for any mistakes, grammar errors or bad structure.**

* * *

Caroline moved through the Victorian home in hopes of finding Rebekah.

She was bored out of her mind and couldn't take being cooped in this house for much longer. Besides Rebekah had been right, she wasn't going to hide away. If she was going to be in New Orleans for the foreseeable future then she actually wanted to go out and experience it but first, she had something she wanted to ask the blonde Original.

She paused in her search however when she heard Klaus's voice from somewhere in the house.

"Because I enjoy your company. And I sense that you have the capacity for understanding someone of my... complexity."

Caroline's brow furrowed wondering who Klaus could be talking to. Her feet began moving again as she switched directions following the sound of his voice.

"You see, I returned to New Orleans to investigate a threat posed against me. What I found was a young woman, pregnant, in need of protection. And someone I cared about in danger. My brother, always the do-gooder, tried to manipulate me into helping the pregnant girl—he thought it might redeem me. Don't much care for it but I want to make sure no harm comes to the one that matters. Trouble is, I've since learned of another young woman—a girl, really, one with vast potential—held in captivity by a tyrant. I want to help all three of these women—protect two and free the other. So, tell me, Cami—does that sound evil to you?"

"I don't believe in evil as a diagnosis. I think you have unstable personal relationships, stress-related paranoia, chronic anger issues, fear of abandonment. I think you could benefit from talking to someone. Professionally."

Caroline's footsteps faltered as she heard an unfamiliar female voice.

"I think I prefer to talk to you. So, I'm going to offer you a job, as my stenographer."

Caroline resumed her steps as she heard Klaus speaking to the woman whoever she was.

"Okay, what are we writing?" asked the woman.

"My memoirs, of course. Someone should know my story. And it will give us time to discuss other riveting subjects, like your handsome suitor, Marcel."

As Caroline drew closer she could hear their voices even more clearly.

"Excuse me? My private life is–" she heard the woman begin to protest before Klaus cut her off.

"Your private life is, as it turns out, essential to my plans. You see, Marcel wants you. And, because of that, he will trust you, which serves me. The thing is, the French Quarter is on the verge of war. On the one side there's me, and on the other, Marcel. Along with a very powerful witch and an army of vampires."

"WHAT?"

Caroline quickened her steps when she heard someone being pushed against a wall and the unmistakable sound of a heart beating quickly out of fear.

Caroline appeared in the doorway only to see Klaus had a blonde woman pushed against the wall, his hand around her throat, hard enough to keep her in place but not to block her air and was in the process of compelling her.

"You're frightened. Don't be." He released her taking a step back.

"I'm not scared anymore." The blonde said puzzled. "That's... amazing. How did you...?"

"It's called compulsion. It's a neat bit of vampire trickery. I'll tell you all about it. But first, let's talk a little more about Marcel."

The blonde only stared at him in response.

"What is going on?" Caroline asked, shaking off her initial surprise and announcing her presence to the room.

The blonde turned and looked at Caroline before turning back to Klaus still looking puzzled but more than anything curious. "Do you have another sister?"

Caroline's face scrunched up at that. "God, no."

Klaus chuckled at her response. "No, this is Caroline."

"Wait," said the blonde. "Is she the woman you spoke of the other night when you said you had someone-"

"Quiet." Klaus compelled her suddenly and she instantly fell silent.

Caroline raised a brow. "You talk about me to random women?"

"Just Cami here." He grinned.

Caroline gazed at the woman unsure of why she was here and who she was to Klaus. "You've never mention any Cami before?"

Caroline winced, disliking how she sounded, a bit jealous, insecure even. She wasn't that girl anymore. That girl who got jealous and was insecure to a high degree. And she refused to be that girl again.

Klaus moved toward her. "Cami here is going to be what we need to get closer to Marcel." He stopped just a foot in front of her. "She's a means to an end, nothing for you to concern yourself with, Love."

"You're compelling her? Using her as a pawn in this game with Marcel for control of the city."

Caroline's brow furrowed. "How can she help you get closer to Marcel?"

"Marcel has taken a keen interest in Cami and that is something I can use to my advantage. He won't expect his pretty little blonde bartender to be spying on him."

Caroline frowned. "You're compelling her to gather information from Marcel and report back to you." She shook her head. "Let me get this straight, you have this Cami, getting close to Marcel so you can get inside information, learn his plans?"

Klaus grinned looking rather pleased with himself. "For starters."

Caroline frowned at him. "This is like when you had your hybrids do all your dirty work and run your little errands when you treated them like your own personal slaves." Caroline couldn't hide her distaste for what she thought of it all.

Klaus sighed. "While I love hearing your opinions Caroline, this isn't one of those times."

"I don't care." Caroline glared, her expression hardening. "You can't compel someone to get involved with another person just because it suits your agenda."

"Oh, I can and I will." Said Klaus. "New Orleans isn't Mystic Falls. It's more treacherous than your small town and it's already been proven with the threat to your life." He stepped closer to her until they were just mere inches apart, catching her gaze and holding it. "I will take back the city I built and I will keep you safe and if I have to do things you don't like then so be it because at the end of the day I'm going to do whatever is necessary to keep you unharmed and at my side."

Before Caroline was able to argue further he was brushing a kiss across her cheek dangerously close to the corner of her mouth, brushing past her and out of the room.

Caroline let her breath out in a huff both exasperated and annoyed at his excuses for treating someone like they were nothing more than a puppet who strings he could pull whenever he wanted. And she didn't need him treating her like glass, didn't need him to keep her safe. She was more than capable of protecting herself.

With that thought in mind, she was even more determined to find Rebekah.

She continued through the house until she heard Hayley arguing with someone, she followed the sound hoping to find Rebekah and to her relief she did. She was seated at a laptop at a table but Caroline paused catching sight of someone else, someone she could remember seeing once when the witches captured her.

"What the hell is she doing here?"

"Caroline." The old witch's eyes settled on her in a way that unnerved her. "How are you?"

Caroline frowned why the hell did a witch care how she was. Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Just curious." The old witch dismissed.

"Why are you here?" Caroline questioned.

"She's here because of me," Hayley said from her spot on the couch, flipping through a book. "And I told you, Agnes, I feel great!"

"You are overdue for a checkup." Claimed the old witch.

"What am I gonna do? Pop into the Quarter for a quick ultrasound? A pregnant werewolf escorted by a witch—nothing to see here!" Haley's voice dripped with sarcasm. Caroline raised a brow looking between the two.

"A lot of women would kill to have children," Rebekah spoke up. "It strikes me as odd that you're not taking better care of yours."

"Actually Rebekah has a point." Caroline moved further into the room. "Better safe than sorry. Plus you're carrying twins. Aren't they a higher risk or something."

Hayley paused looking over at Caroline, remembering her talk with her about having a child wasn't something she would ever be able to do after becoming a vampire.

"I know a doctor out in the bayou. Off the beaten path." Insisted Agnes, looking from Hayley to Caroline. "Now, I took the liberty of making an appointment for you. Tonight, after-hours, just us. Vampires will never get word of it." She shot Hayley a pointed look one that she tried to ignore with the feeling it caused her.

Caroline didn't know why the witch kept glancing at her but she didn't like it.

Hayley considered it, thinking it over for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Okay, fine. Bayou-baby-doctor it is." She got up off the couch leaving the room with Agnes.

Caroline met the witch's gaze as they left the room as Agnes looked back at her for just a moment.

"What's that about?" Rebekah asked her, nodding her head at the way Agnes had looked at her as she left.

"I have no clue." Though Caroline couldn't imagine that it was good. Her run-ins with the witches of New Orleans so far had not been pleasant experiences.

Caroline moved closer to Rebekah taking a seat across from her at the table. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for something clearly," Rebekah responded dryly, glancing away from the computer screen. "Did you want something? Cause normally your not keen on being in a room with me?"

"You were right," Caroline admitted rather reluctantly.

"Words I love to hear." Rebekah grinned. "What exactly was I right about?"

"All the things you said about me hiding away here and that's not me. Doing things just because I'm told." Caroline smiled faintly. "Usually I'm the one telling others what to do and then just doing it myself because nothing you want done gets done better than when you do it yourself."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Rebekah asked, pulling her attention from the computer and focusing on the blonde opposite her.

"Well, I'm not stupid. I know New Orleans is more dangerous than what I'm used too. That a lot of the vampires here are older than I am which means their stronger but I thought if you could teach me how to combat that strength I should be fine."

"And I'm just going to help you because we're such good friends," Rebekah said sardonically a twist to her lips.

"Well no, obviously. We spend more time fighting than we actually do talking." Caroline rolled her eyes. "I just figured you help me, and I help you. I can help you get Elijah back, not sure how much help I'll be but I'll tell you this, once I set mind to something, I get it done, failure is not an option." When Rebekah said nothing, only staring at her with her piercing blue gaze she continued. "I'm willing to help as much as I can."

"Hmm. Tempting." Rebekah tilted her head, grinning slowly. "Plus it'll probably piss Nik off and that is something I take a great pleasure in. Alright, we get Elijah back first and then I'll help you learn to combat old vampires."

"Great," Caroline said with a smile. "It's a deal."

"It's good to see the Caroline I know," Rebekah commented turning back to her computer, looking at satellite photos.

"So what are you looking at?" Caroline wondered but before Rebekah could answer Klaus walked into the room.

"Please, sister, tell me you're not still at it with the internet search. How does one begin, anyway? Just type in "anonymous attic?" He walked to the small bar and poured himself a scotch, glancing toward Caroline. "Have you come around yet, Love?"

"My opinion has not changed." She glared at him, crossing her arms and Klaus sighed, muttering something under his breath and Caroline could have sworn he said something about her being unreasonable.

Rebekah glanced between the two quirking an eyebrow before focusing on Klaus. "Someone has to find Elijah, even if I have to search every bloody attic in New Orleans."

"Like looking for a needle in a rather large pile of needles." Klaus groused.

"I remember details about the attic Marcel took me to. There were shutters on the windows behind Elijah's coffin." Rebekah insisted.

Caroline looked between the two watching as they went back and forth while also filing away in her head the details about the attic with shutters on the windows, hoping she would be able to help Rebekah narrow her search down a bit.

"Well, that should narrow it down immensely." Said, Klaus, as if he could hear what she had been thinking. "Myself, I prefer actual strategy as opposed to mind-numbing labor. Marcel's delay in returning our brother makes me suspect he's no longer in charge of the situation. If Davina's loyalty to Marcel is strained, perhaps the young witch will be open to discussing a new alliance."

Rebekah smiled bitterly. "As usual, your power grabs are more important than rescuing your brother."

While they were going back and forth Caroline slid the laptop to herself and began searching through the satellite images.

"I prefer to think of it as killing two birds with one stone. Rob Marcel of his secret weapon, bring our brother home." Klaus responded in a way that spoke of how he believed what he was doing was so much better.

Rebekah merely looked at him and smiled tightly.

* * *

"You shut up about Thierry, alright? He didn't deserve what he got. Marcel was just showing off because of Klaus. Can't wait 'til his ancient-ass is outta here."

Caroline looked to Rebekah with a curious look, wondering who Thierry was and what happened to him. They were standing just outside of a bar.

Rebekah just shook her head. "One of Marcel's guys. C'mon." She led the way inside the bar and Caroline followed.

Shortly after Klaus had left to go do god knows what Rebekah had told her they were heading to the Quarter to find what information they could. Caroline had been more than ready to get out of the house, tired of being locked away like a china doll that would shatter like glass.

"You and me both." Rebekah quipped as they walked in.

Diego stood up glancing between the two blondes, he knew enough about the originals to know the one that had spoken was Rebekah Mikaelson. He, however, had no idea who the other blonde was. He clapped his hands and walked toward the two women stopping in front of Rebekah. "Look alive, boys. We got ourselves one high-class Original vampire."

"Mmm, a real charmer," Rebekah responded.

"I have no idea who you are." Diego glanced at Caroline.

"You wouldn't. I'm not from around here." Caroline eyed him carefully, her gaze turning to all the other vampires, wondering just how old each of them was.

"And yet you can walk in the sun?" he said picking up on the fact that she was a vampire. "Where did you come by a daylight ring?"

"I don't know." Caroline gave a shrug. "I forgot." She wasn't about to tell them the truth. Knowing a lot of vampires would kill to get their hands on a daylight ring.

"Uh-huh," Diego said not believing her. "Must be a perk of keeping company with the Originals."

"Must be." She responded evenly, meeting his gaze challengingly.

"Enough of this," Rebekah said, trying to get back to why they were here. "What if I told you I could help you out with your little Klaus problem, in exchange for the tiniest bit of gossip?"

Diego's face turned serious as he considered the offer. "Like what?"

"You might have heard the rumors that Marcel and I were quite the item, back in the day. He seems to have moved on, and I'd like to know with who."

Caroline frowned at her. "I could have told you that. A blonde girl name Cami."

Rebekah gave her a side eye. "That's not much to go on."

"You've seen him with her. The bartender." Diego told Rebekah.

"What, that plain-Jane that he carries on with?" Rebekah asked with a look of distaste. "Only a blind man would choose her over me. There must be another girl in his harem."

Caroline paused realizing Rebecca was trying to get him to slip up and give them info on the teenage witch Marcel had on his side.

Diego shrugged and shook his head.

"Look, I just need the tiniest bit of closure. And then I can leave New Orleans and I'll be sure to take Klaus with me, which, let's face it, would make your life a whole lot easier?" Said Rebekah, hoping to tempt him with her offer.

Diego sighed. "Look, Marcel's got a full plate. If he's seeing some other hottie, she's somewhere in the Quarter, probably close by."

Rebekah smiled and Caroline wondered just how much that narrowed down their search.

"And that milady is all I got." Said Diego, taking a step back from them.

* * *

Marcel walked along Dauphine Street as he gave instructions to a group of his vampires. "Big event tonight, a lot of people drinking, a lot of eyes watching. I don't want any trouble, which means no witches. Send word through the Cauldron—any witches come here, we kill them. And, while you're at it, no Originals, I don't like how Rebekah's been snooping around." A few of his guys had mentioned Rebekah's earlier visit and that she had brought a blonde friend along. "I got my girl Cami coming here and a little friend of hers, I want eyes on them at all times; eyes only. Alright? I don't want anyone getting anywhere near either of them. Everybody's got a post, everybody keeps an eye out. You cool?"

The vampires looked at Marcel in agreement for a moment before walking away.

Marcel had been a little surprised by Cami changing her mind about seeing him but he wasn't about to question it. At least not at the moment. He liked being around her.

* * *

Night had fallen as Agnes drove Hayley up to the obstetrician located in the Bayou. The sound of owls hooting sounded as Hayley asked looking around doubtfully. "This is the doctor's office?"

Agnes smiled reassuringly. "Dr. Paige is only this far out because Marcel's men kept terrorizing her patients. Go! She won't bite!"

Hayley felt nervous as she exited the car uncertain about this but still she forged forward and walked toward the clinic.

Once she was out of earshot, Agnes lifted her cell to her ear, a frown in place. "Send them in now and tell them to do it quickly."

She knew this move would have dire consequences with the Hybrid but it had to be done before those babies had a chance to be born.

* * *

"Are we sure this is the place?" Caroline questioned. She was hoping, it wasn't. Mainly because it was a church and she in no way wanted to threaten a priest.

"We've been all around town." Rebekah reminded. "Besides this church is closed." Not waiting for Caroline to reply before entering the church.

"That's not really the point," Caroline muttered before following Rebekah inside the old church.

Caroline glanced around at the surroundings of the church. It was pretty rundown and there was one lone priest trying to clean it up.

The Priest briefly looked up at them before going back to what he was doing. "Church is closed. If you want your horror fix, go take a ghost tour."

"I don't much care for ghosts." Replied Rebekah. "I am, however, fascinated by window shutters. We've been on a town tour of them all day. I noticed the windows of your attic have shutters."

"Are you really interested in shutters?" he asked.

"It's an obsession of mine." Caroline smiled sweetly. "And I've seemed to have infected my friend with that obsession."

The priest looked at them doubtfully and Caroline couldn't blame him. Shutters obsession wasn't really a thing. At least she didn't think it was.

"What's your name?" Rebekah questioned observing the priest.

''Father Kieran." He answered. "And you are?"

"Car-"

"Mildly curious." Rebekah cut Caroline off shooting her a look, trying to convey that Caroline shouldn't go around telling people her name in the Quarter.

Caroline, however, got distracted by the splash of color on the wall, blood stained it red. Why in the world would there be blood in a church?

"What happened here?" Rebekah questioned following Caroline's line of sight.

Father Kieran sighed again. "St. Ann's used to be the heart of the neighborhood. It's been abandoned for a while now. Since the night of the massacre."

"Who the hell-" Caroline cleared her throat. "I mean, who would commit a massacre in a church?" Seriously Caroline thought the person had to be seriously twisted or evil or something.

"One of their own," Kieran told her. "He killed nine other seminary students."

Caroline grimaced, clearly whoever the student was he was a psycho.

"You're standing on blood," Kieran told Rebekah pointedly.

Caroline tilted her head down at where Rebekah was standing and saw she was indeed standing on blood.

"I'm not squeamish." Said Rebekah completely unbothered. "Where's the attic?"

"Like I said, the church is closed," Kieran repeated.

Rebekah moved herself directly in front of the priest and compelled him. "Where is the attic?"

"Past the sacristy, up the stairs." He answered monotonously.

"Thank you. Now, forget we were here." Rebekah compelled him, throwing a look at Caroline motioning for her to follow.

"Compelling a priest." Caroline shook her head.

"It's not like I compelled the pope." Rebekah retorted as they walked away and up a flight of stairs, they reached the upper floor, finding the attic and it's closed door.

"I knew it!" Rebekah declared, pulling the door open and tried to enter the room but found she couldn't.

"Looks like your invitation has been revoked," Caroline remarked dryly.

"Clearly," Rebekah said flatly. Caroline looked past Rebekah's shoulder and into the room and spotted Elijah laying in his open coffin. "There he is." His eyes opened suddenly and looked toward them even as he lied motionless. "Okay, that's creepy."

She looked to Rebekah but her eyes were intent on her brother, solely focused on Elijah.

* * *

Rebekah suddenly found herself dressed in 19th-century clothing and standing in front of a horse and carriage. "What the bloody hell?"

"Rebekah, language, please!" Elijah's voice sounded from behind her.

Rebekah whirled around. "Elijah!" she ran toward him when she caught sight of her brother hugging him tightly before looking around them in confusion. "What is all this?"

"You don't remember? We went to the opera house together. It was your first full day back into New Orleans' society after Klaus removed the dagger from you." Elijah reminded. "It's a memory that only you and I share. Also, I needed to know it wasn't another one of Davina's tricks."

"Well, how are you even awake?" Rebekah questioned.

Elijah smiled as he responded. "Davina removed the dagger, unaware that doing so even once would negate the dagger's power. In a few hours, I shall be as good as new!"

"So, pop me into the attic and we can find a way to get you out!"

"I'm afraid I'm not quite ready to leave yet, Rebekah." He paused. "This girl, Davina, she's...curious. Willful, too." He poured himself and Rebekah both a drink. "Soon, I shall be able to speak to her, perhaps to even propose a truce of some kind. So, if we can end this war between the vampires and the witches, we'll be able to eliminate the threat to Hayley, and her baby and Caroline. Perhaps then Niklaus and our entire family can finally know peace." He handed Rebekah her drink. "In the meantime, I need you to look after Hayley. She is our family now, so I need her and her unborn child to fall underneath our protection." He held out his drink to toast to her. "Swear to me, Rebekah." He asked of her before returning her back to reality.

* * *

"Hello, Rebekah?" Caroline eyed Rebekah impatiently. "Are you just going to stand there staring at nothing?"

"I swear." Rebekah said suddenly and Caroline was sure she wasn't speaking to her.

"You swear what?" Caroline brow wrinkled in confusion.

"We need to trust in Elijah." Rebekah said, turning away from the door.

"You want to trust in your daggered brother whose for all intent and purposes is dead right now? Did I miss something?" Not to mention Caroline didn't really know him and after he invaded her mind she didn't trust him at all.

* * *

Hayley laid down on a table as Dr. Paige gave her an ultrasound and Hayley could hear the fetal heartbeat of both her babies and a feeling of warmth washed over her.

"Both your babies heart rate's are perfect." Dr. Paige smiled.

Hayley smiled in return. "I knew it. They're tough, like their mom." Hayley felt a twinge of guilt as soon as she said it but pushed it down.

Dr. Paige chuckled and handed Hayley a tissue to wipe the ultrasound gel off of her abdomen.

Hayley wiped the gel from her stomach and sat up.

"That's a unique birthmark." Dr. Paige commented noticing Hayley's crescent-moon shaped birthmark on her shoulder.

Hayley pulled her sweater on, ignoring the comment. "We're pretty much done here, right?" Her phone received a text and she checked it seeing it was from Rebekah.

 _Where are you?_

"Your blood pressure is a bit high, I've got something for it." Dr. Paige informed her.

Hayley watched as she walked away to where Agnes was waiting in the next room. She took the moment to text Rebekah back.

 _Bayou clinic with doctor._

Suddenly, a wolf howled loudly, startling her. Hayley got up, looking out the window and saw a car's headlights approaching, she frowned, getting a bad feeling, making her anxious.

Dr. Paige walked back in with her medication.

"Ahh, you know, I'm-I'm actually not that good with pills." Hayley lied, her suspicions on high.

"Heh, neither am I, truth be told." Said Dr. Paige, seeming like she was nervous to Hayley as she set the medicine cup on the table and started preparing something.

Hayley saw a group of intimidating men walk into the clinic and when she turned around she saw Dr. Paige preparing a syringe.

The doctor lunged at Hayley trying to inject her with it. Hayley grabbed her arm and pushed it away from her, head-butting the doctor, disorienting her and stabbed the syringe into the doctor's neck.

When the men in the lobby saw what happened, they ran toward the door, but Hayley managed to quickly shut and lock it before they could reach her. The doorknob rattled as Hayley struggled to open the window to escape, the second she got it open she was out the window and running.

* * *

Klaus had been watching the young boy since learning of his connection to Marcel's witch and had decided he was the key to sending her a message. He appeared behind him just outside Russo's.

"Hello, Tim." The boy only stared at him blankly having no idea who he was. "I believe you and I share an acquaintance."

He gripped him tightly by the shoulder, catching his gaze. "Be a good lad and help me send her a message." He compelled the boy.

* * *

Davina was starting to think this was a bad idea as she and Cami looked for her friend.

"Well, he couldn't have gone far, he just got off-stage a minute ago!" said Cami.

Davina sighed, blinking tears from her eyes feeling like she was stood up. "It doesn't matter, this was a stupid idea anyway."

"No, it wasn't! Davina–"

Davina cut her off. "Just forget it." She muttered, taking off.

Klaus approached Cami from behind, handing her a note. "Tell her this is from one of the musicians. She'll want to leave, and you're going to want to help her slip out the back exit so Marcel doesn't see." He ordered. "Whatever you do, don't let her out of your sight."

Cami eyes flared with annoyance but when she turned around to talk to Klaus, he was already gone.

"Wait, Davina!" she called after the girl forgetting about Klaus and running to catch up with Davina.

* * *

Klaus watched as Davina reunited with her little crush. Young love was so easy to exploit especially when it benefitted him. He slipped into the seat next to Cami in the church as Tim played the violin for the little witch. "The boy has a gift. You can't compel a person to play like that."

"I know what you are. It's crazy to me, but at least it makes sense. But this... massacre... was just a pointless, brutal thing." She looked around at the blood that still stained the church floor, the pews, its walls. "In your life, have you ever heard of anything like that? A good man, an aspiring priest, just goes on a killing spree out of nowhere."

"I've seen quite a lot in my time. The world is a rather awful place. Best to meet it on its own terms." He responded.

Cami shook her head. "No. The world isn't awful. People aren't awful. They want to be good; something makes them bad. Something breaks them down, makes them snap." She insisted. "There are always signs, symptoms before someone has a psychotic break. The guy who did this had none of them; he didn't drink, he didn't do drugs..."

"You're well-informed on the matter." Klaus turned his gaze away from the two teenagers and to her. "You knew him, didn't you?"

"His name was Sean. He was my brother. My twin, actually." Cami blinked back tears that had gathered in her eyes. "I can't sleep, I... dream, about what happened, and I hate it, and I hate that I couldn't help him."

"We all must stand alone against our demons."

"What if someday, his demons become mine too?" She looked at him expectantly, hoping for an answer but he had already turned away from her and was watching Tim as the boy finished playing.

"I have some business I should attend to...but before I do–" he caught Cami's gaze compelling her. "You should go, enjoy the music. Enjoy your night."

Cami got up robotically leaving the church, returning to the festivities that were taking place in the city tonight.

* * *

Father Kieran walked down Dauphine Street. The festival was in full swing when he saw Marcel. "Marcel!"

"Father Kieran—welcome back." Marcel said in greeting. "I wasn't sure when you'd be coming home."

"I can tell, judging by what's been going on in my church attic." Replied Father Kieran.

Marcel smiled coldly in response. "I didn't think you'd mind. Lord knows I've done you a favor or two."

"I take it you know the Originals have returned?" The Father asked lowly. "The sister, Rebekah? I saw her earlier, snooping around the church, asking about the attic. And she wasn't alone. She was with another blonde. She doesn't know I take vervain. You gotta problem on your hands."

"No disrespect, for the grieving process, for you and your church, but just so I know—are you here to help, or are you just going to drop in with criticism?" Marcel responded.

Father Kieran laughed coldly and leaned in to whisper. "Never forget, Marcel, that you live in this city by the grace of those who know your secret and tolerate you."

"And this city thrives because of me and my people. Anytime that you need a reminder of that, just let me know." Marcel stared at Father Kieran menacingly his threat clear.

"Marcel?" Josh interrupted their disagreement. "Diego said he lost eyes on the girls."

Marcel turned to Father Kieran "To be continued!"

* * *

"You two are absolutely adorable!" Klaus mocked Davina and Tim, approaching them. "Warms my heart, it really does, but I do need a word with the young lady. So, Tim," he gripped the boy by his shoulder and compelled him. "Go sit down, count to one-hundred-thousand."

Tim walked to the back of the church. "Quietly, now, there's a good boy." Klaus turned back to Davina. "I assume you know who I am." When Davina said nothing he continued. "Then, let's get right to it, shall we? Your current dilemma strikes me as a case of poor alliances. You're loyal to Marcel and yet he keeps you tucked away in an attic. Surely you prefer just a little bit more freedom. And yet Marcel keeps you prisoner."

"Marcel doesn't keep me prisoner, he keeps me safe." Davina responded strongly. "He's my friend."

"Well, I've no doubt he is." He crouched to her level. "For a girl caught in a war between witches and vampires, I might be a better friend. I would keep you safe. And I'd allow you your freedom." He moved to pace up and down the aisle. "If Marcel could do that, why hasn't he done so already? And it does beg the question: If Marcel can't protect you, then what of those you care about?" Klaus gestured to Tim, who was sitting in the last pew.

"If anyone tries to hurt anyone I care about, I'll kill them." She said strongly.

"Well, then. Sounds like you don't need Marcel at all. Perhaps you've suspected it all along." Said Klaus. "Your dear friend Marcel tricks you into doing his bidding. And all the while you rot in an attic, alone, while young Timothy moves on with his life."

Davina stared intently at Klaus with a look of anger and Klaus could feel an intense heat. "You feel that? That's your blood starting to boil."

Klaus groaned as he heard the hiss of his own blood boiling. He felt the sweat start to drip from his forehead, but he composed himself and vamp-sped to Tim, placing the boy in a headlock. "Such a shame to lose him, just as you found him again." He told her.

"And I really did admire your skill with that violin." He added to Tim even as he had him in his clutches prepared to end the boy's life if need be.

"Don't you dare hurt him!" warned Davina.

"Oh, I hope I won't have to, sweetheart." Klaus responded. "But, then, that depends on you."

"Let him go now!" Davina demanded.

"You should know, I don't do well with demands."

Davina thrust her open hand out and twisted it in response, using her magic to break the bones in his leg.

Unfortunately, for her, it took only moments for Klaus to reset his bones and heal. "Impressive. But you don't want to fight me, love. Innocent people have a way of ending up dead."

"Please, let me go." Tim whispered, scared.

"Your choice, little witch," Klaus told Davina, tightening his hold on the boy. "Swear allegiance to me alone and the boy lives. Stand against me–"

The candles behind Davina flared as she grew angrier. She thrust both hands in front of her and let out a shriek. Wind tore through the church causing paper and books to be blown around, all the windows in the church shattering. The glass shards flew backwards, and Klaus and Tim were forcibly blown backwards toward the entrance. Even Davina herself was knocked backwards by the power of her magic, thrown to the ground.

* * *

Hayley pressed her back against a tree in the woods of the Bayou, heart pounding in her chest as the men who raided the clinic passed her and they passed by thankfully not seeing that she was hidden behind the tree.

She took the opportunity and ran up to them, kicking the first man she encountered in the gut, knocking him to the ground. She jumped and kicked the second man down as well, snapping his neck.

A third man tried to attack her with a knife but she grabbed the knife from his hands and sliced his neck with it as she spun in the air. When a fourth one attacked her, she grabbed the shotgun he had, knocked him to the ground, she kicked him twice before beating him in the head with the butt of the shotgun, uncaring at the moment if it'll kill him.

Hayley crouched low on the ground, her eyes flashing werewolf-gold as she scanned the woods for any more threats.

A large, burly man descended upon her, but before Hayley could react, his neck was snapped from behind by Rebekah, who had just arrived with Caroline.

Caroline frowned at the men, not all too certain if they were dead or just unconscious but she couldn't really bring herself to care when she was more focused on wondering why they were attacking Hayley in the first place.

"Have to say, I'm impressed." Said Rebekah.

"How did you find me?" asked Hayley.

"Your text got me halfway, vamping here did the rest. Who are they?" Rebekah questioned.

"Witches, warlocks, whatever." Hayley dismissed.

"But why would the witches attack you. If something happens to you and the babies they lose their bargaining chips with Klaus." Caroline's brow furrowed in confusion.

Rebekah's eyes narrowed as she noticed flashlights in the distance. "There're more of them. Run!" she told Hayley.

Hayley reluctantly listened, heeding her warning.

"Go with her." Rebekah told Caroline.

"I thought we established that I was done hiding away." Said Caroline defiantly. "If you're gonna stay and fight so am I."

"Just try not to get yourself killed, I'd hate to have to deal with Nik." Rebekah sighed before muttering more to herself than Caroline. "If I had a dollar for every mess my family has got me into..." she trailed off as she was hit suddenly with two arrows to the heart, which temporarily neutralize her, she fell to the ground.

"Fuck!" Caroline muttered just as she heard Hayley yell out to Rebekah. "Rebekah!"

"Go now! Get out of here!" Caroline shouted to Hayley moving toward her, knowing she needed to get her away from here, she had almost reached her when she felt a sharp pain in the back, her body jerked and she felt her body grow sluggish the familiar feeling of being hit with vervain weakening her.

"Vervain." She muttered, realizing the arrow embedded in her back was soaked in vervain.

Hayley watched as Caroline collapsed to the ground unconscious but the distraction cost her as she was hit in the shoulder with an arrow, which had seemed to be coated in something because her vision blackened right before she lost consciousness, falling to the ground.

* * *

Rebekah slowly came to after being shot in the heart with an arrow. She pulled out the arrows with a groan, sitting up to find five more bodies, all dead and bloody.

"What the hell?" she gasped for breath as she pulled herself to her feet. She looked around for Caroline and Haley.

"Caroline? Hayley? HAYLEY? CAROLI-" she cut off abruptly when she caught sight of blonde hair fanned out against the ground, an arrow embedded in her back.

"Bloody hell," Rebekah muttered. "You better not be dead because I swear to God I will not be dealing with Nik if he lost you." She knelt beside Caroline yanking the arrow from her spine.

Caroline came to with a cry of pain jerking up.

"Oh, good you're not dead." Said Rebekah.

Caroline's eyes flashed to her, eyes blackened with anger, fangs bared, veins beneath her cheeks. "Not dead but really fucking pissed."

"Good." Said Rebekah. "Use it to get up. We gotta find Hayley."

Caroline pushed to her feet, glancing briefly at the bodies surrounding them. "You?" she asked Rebekah.

"Not me." Rebekah said stepping over a body. "Let's go. Hayley could be in danger."

* * *

Davina awoke slowly on the floor of St. Ann's Catholic church having passed out from using too much of her magic attacking Klaus. She stood up.

"Tim!" She ran toward the back of the room, where Klaus and Tim were blown backward and ran out the door.

Above her on the balcony, Klaus stood as he talked on his cell phone with Rebekah.

"What do you mean, 'She's missing?'" Klaus demanded angrily.

 _"What do you think I mean? There's blood and bodies everywhere, someone's ripped this lot to shreds, and there's no smart-aleck pregnant girl."_ Rebekah's voice filtered over the line.

"Keep looking. I'm on my way." He hung up abruptly, pulling Tim up onto his feet.

"Please, don't hurt me." The boy pleaded.

"It wasn't my intent to. But, sadly, we've run out of time to play nice." He grabbed Tim and tossed him over the balcony onto the floor below. He noticed Tim's violin on the floor and smiled as he picked it up and tossed it over as well before walking away without a second look.

* * *

Tim laid on the floor, surrounded by broken glass. He was hurt, severely injured, his breathing shallow. Davina returned, finding him on the floor.

"Tim!" She rushed to kneel at his side. "Oh no, no, please!" she lifted his head onto her lap. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you!"

Tim gasped in pain, looking up at her as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"One of the tragic consequences of war." Klaus mused, walking into the church and toward Davina. "Innocent Bystanders. What terrible guilt you'll have to live with, young Timothy's blood on your hands."

Davina's eyes glistened with tears but there was no denying the anger in them. "Get away from him!"

Klaus raised his hands in mock defense. "No, no, let's not be hasty. After all, I can heal him."

Davina looked at him, frowning in confusion.

"All you have to do is ask." He crouched down to her level.

Davina looked down at Tim, and after a moment nodded her head. "Please!"

"For you, Davina, with pleasure." Klaus gave a half smirk before biting his wrist, feeding his blood to Tim.

After a moment, Tim pulled away, sighing in relief.

Klaus tilted his head toward him, locking their eyes. "You will forget everything that happened after the concert, including the fact that you saw Davina." He compelled.

Davina looked at Klaus in shock, that wasn't what she wanted. "What? No!"

"If he remembers seeing you, he might come looking. If the witches learn of him, if they know you have a weakness, then poor Tim might end up as leverage in an awful scheme to control you." He explained. "Again." He stood up, pulling Tim to his feet again. "Okay, come on, up you come." Once the boy was steady on his feet he compelled him further. "Take your violin case with you. You'll remember losing the instrument backstage after the performance. You really should be more careful." Klaus clapped him on the neck and Tim picked up his violin case, leaving with it.

"All fixed!" said Klaus once he was gone and focusing back on Davina. "And now, you owe me a favor."

Davina frowned, crying silently as she picked up Tim's smashed violin off the floor. When she looked up again, Klaus had vanished. She walked into the aisle and turned around when she heard approaching footsteps.

"Davina!" Marcel rushed to her in concern, looking around. "What happened? What are you doing here?"

"I live here, remember?" she retorted bitterly, turning away from him, walking back to her room.

Marcel watched her go confused, sighing at her retreating back.

* * *

Rebekah walked around the Bayou clinic looking for clues as to where Hayley could be.

Caroline paused beside a doctor, reaching down and checking her pulse. "Well, she's not dead." She stood back up, wiping her hands on her jeans, frowning at the used syringe. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know what had been in there.

"What the hell are you doing in the Bayou?!"

Caroline frowned at Klaus's sudden appearance. "Well, it certainly isn't for the scenery." She responded dryly.

"You're supposed to be back at the house." He stepped closer to her. "Away from danger."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm not some breakable doll so stop treating me like one. I'm done hiding away like a pathetic damsel. I can take care of myself."

"I didn't say you couldn't-"

"Then stop acting like it." She exclaimed. "Look, you don't have to like it but I'm not gonna be kept locked up any longer." She glared at him challengingly.

Klaus clenched his jaw tempted to throw her over his shoulder and whisk her away, locking her in a room until he could ensure no one would dare come after her.

"Are you two done bickering while having angry eye sex because we have more important concerns right now." Rebekah's voice cut through their heated stares.

"Rebekah's right." Caroline took a step back from him. "We need to find Hayley."

"You failed to mention Caroline was out here with you." Klaus shot Rebekah a look of accusation.

"Wow! Could you focus on something other than Caroline for five minutes! Like I don't know, say the missing pregnant girl carrying your children?!" Rebekah exclaimed. "Maybe I should have said something. Then you might have abandoned your quest for power to help out your family!"

Klaus ignored her comments about Caroline and instead calmly asked. "Who took her, Rebekah?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" He frowned. "And who killed her attackers?"

"I don't know! I had an arrow in my heart and Caroline was unconscious-" Rebekah was cut off by Klaus again.

He turned to Caroline, his reaction swift and immediate. "You were hurt?"

"Look that's not what's important right now." Caroline dismissed. "We got a missing pregnant girl on our hands with psycho's who are clearly out to kill her for obvious reasons." Clearly, it had something to do with the children.

"Exactly." Said Rebekah glad she wasn't the only one who wanted to focus on finding Hayley. "If it wasn't Hayley who killed them, then–"

The sounds of wolves howling in the distance cut Rebekah off.

Klaus looked from Caroline to Rebekah raising his eyebrows.

"Lovely." Responded Rebekah as she trudged outside. "Maybe her cousins will know where she is."

"Don't know how you intend for them to talk if they're in wolf form." Caroline mused as she and Klaus followed Rebekah outside only to fall silent, speechless at the sight of Hayley stumbling toward them as they exited the building, her clothes tattered and dirty.

She looked dazed and exhausted and like she might collapse.

The three ran toward her.

"Hayley! What happened?" Klaus questioned. "Tell me what happened."

"I can't remember." Hayley told him.

"Are you alright?" Caroline frowned at her in mild concern.

"I've been better." Hayley muttered.

Klaus observed Hayley closely examining her for wounds. "You've completely healed. There's not a scratch on you." He said in quiet wonder.

"One of the perks of being a werewolf, remember?" responded Hayley.

"No, not that fast." Klaus disagreed and Caroline would have to agree. When Tyler had just been a werewolf before becoming a hybrid he'd been hurt more than once and he didn't heal as fast as Hayley clearly did.

Rebekah wrapped an arm around Hayley protectively. "Leave her alone!" she paused, thinking a moment before saying. "It's the babies. The vampire blood, Klaus' vampire blood, in your system, it can heal any wound." Rebekah led her over to sit on the steps of the Bayou clinic where Hayley sat down.

Klaus turned and stared at his sister incredulously.

"Your own children healed you." Rebekah told her.

"That's not weird at all." Caroline muttered but then the fact that Hayley was pregnant with children that were vampire and werewolf was weird to begin with. It was so Twilight.

Klaus though smiled at the thought.

"How did you escape?" Rebekah wondered. "Outnumbered, unarmed? Those men were ripped to shreds!"

"I think it was the wolf," Hayley admitted quietly.

"The one that was at the house?" Caroline's brow furrowed. "That same wolf?"

Hayley nodded. "I think it's trying to protect me."

Klaus pointed angrily to Hayley. "The witches were supposed to protect you! Your life isn't the only one at stake here." He resisted the urge to reach for Caroline who stood beside him. "When I get my hands on Sophie Deveraux–"

"It wasn't Sophie–" Rebekah started to say but was cut off by Hayley's next words.

"It was Agnes."

"Fine! Agnes, Sophie, it's all the same to me!" Klaus didn't care they were all to blame. "I'll slaughter the lot of them!"

"I'll admit I'm not a fan of the witches. Particularly Sophie but you can't kill every witch for the crime of one." Caroline protested.

"Oh, I could," Klaus swore darkly. "I _really_ could."

"Not if Elijah gets there first." Said Rebekah.

"Elijah?" Hayley looked at her hopefully. "Did you find him?"

"He's been in touch, and he has a plan. All he asks is that we take care of you."

Hayley smiled at what Rebekah told her. "Hey, so... can we go home now? I'd really like to sleep for a few days." she stood up, and Klaus nodded with a smile.

Hayley took only a few steps before she stumbled and she would have fallen if it weren't for Klaus speeding forward, catching her before she could fall to the ground.

Klaus easily picked her up. "Oh, I've got you, love. I've got you."

Caroline watched him, speaking assurances, his arms around Hayley and felt her stomach sink with an emotion she was familiar with.

Jealousy.

It was an emotion she was used to feeling being friends with Bonnie and Elena. Bonnie the chosen friend and Elena the one who always got what she wanted.

She hated the familiar feeling of jealousy and tried to push it down, but it was harder to do when she watched Hayley being carried by Klaus.

She watched him until Klaus turned his eyes to her as if feeling her gaze on him and she quickly averted her eyes, not wanting him to see that she was bothered by his current physical closeness with Hayley.

She could feel his eyes on the side of her face as they started walking to their car but refused to meet his gaze while Hayley was in his arms.

* * *

Marcel was with his nightwalkers, including Josh and Diego not hiding the fact that he was angry with them for not doing as he had instructed. "I was crystal clear! Eyes on my girls at all times."

Diego scoffed at Marcel's anger. "What, your girl's little friend sneaks away from your party, and that's our fault?"

Marcel scowled at him not appreciating Diego's words.

"What, Marcel, are you going to send me to the Garden, too?" Diego challenged.

Marcel having enough of his attitude snapped his neck then turned around to address his other nightwalkers who stood and stared at him in surprise before dispersing awkwardly, making themselves scarce not wanting to find themselves the next one on the receiving end of his anger.

Marcel turned to Josh who hadn't left. "When he wakes up, tell him an apology would have gotten him a lot further than his attitude." He smiled an easy smile and Josh nodded, walking away.

Just seconds after Rebekah walked into the bar, the door slamming behind her.

Marcel walked toward her surprised but not all that surprising appearance considering she'd been snooping around in his French Quarter.

"Awful, what happened to the church." She said in mock empathy. "I hear they're calling it a gas leak. Such a pity."

"I heard that you were quite a woman on a mission today."

"What can I say? I want Elijah back."

"Is that all you want?" he stepped into her space, his face close to hers. "You'll get Elijah back. In the meantime, stay out of this bar, and stay away from my guys. That goes for whatever friend you brought along with you, too."

"What's wrong? You jealous?" Rebekah challenged.

"Me? I've already found my queen."

"Cami? The bartender? Stop fooling yourself, Marcel." She responded, not believing he would settle for someone so ordinary.

"She's comfort food, something to distract you from what you really want, which, after all these years, is impossible to deny, because I'm" her voice fell to a whisper as if they were sharing a tempting secret. "standing right in front of you." She looked at him before deliberately looking at his lips as if she was going to kiss him but to her surprise Marcel walked away from her, leaving her standing there alone.

* * *

Klaus watched Cami from outside of her apartment wondering just how long it would take her to notice him. In his opinion, it took her too long.

"Klaus! What are you doing here?"

"I've had quite a night." He paused. "I recall you mentioned something about nightmares and insomnia. I believe I can help. Can I come in?"

"This is super weird. Come in," she said, but still, she invited him in.

Klaus stepped inside.

"Wait, that's right, I told you what happened. I never tell anybody, but I told you." Tears filled Cami's eyes. "And you said something about Sean standing alone against his demons. When he killed those men, I thought he must be mentally ill, but" she gasped as something else occurred to her. "what if it was demons? What if a vampire compelled him?"

"And if so, would you devote yourself to finding the guilty party?" he questioned because the last thing he needed was her on some revenge kick when he needed her attention focused elsewhere. "Would you sacrifice everything to find out the truth? To what end?"

"To what end?" she repeated. "This is the entire reason why I'm in New Orleans!"

"Cami, you have a new reason for being here. I need you to grow close to Marcel and I can't have you focus on anything else." He sped toward her before she could step back. "You will forget this…until I say otherwise."

Cami eyes widened with the realization of what he was going to do. "No."

"You must forget and move on."

"No! Don't compel me to forget this!" She cried in a panic.

"And if I allow you to remember, your quest to avenge your brother will consume you."

"All you care about is yourself!" she accused crying. "You only want me to forget this so I can focus on Marcel! So I'll be a good little spy, for you!"

"I need your loyalty, yes, and though it may appear selfish to you, the scope of my plan goes far beyond myself! Power aside, I am trying to honor my brother! I'm trying to keep someone I care about safe! Someone I lo-" he broke off abruptly, his jaw clenching.

Cami froze suddenly as he placed a hand on the side of her skull, images flashing behind her eyes of the blonde she had met earlier, of her laughing, of her smiling, of her lying in her bed, birthday cards on her stand, of her talking with Klaus, images upon images of the blonde and this strong feeling of love and longing.

She gasped when the images stopped, his hand falling away.

"I care more than I'm willing to let people know because they would use it against me." he looked at her expectantly. "Haven't you ever cared about someone so deeply you would do anything to keep them safe?"

Cami bit her lip, looking at him pleadingly. "But what about my brother? My twin brother. We were bonded our whole lives, and I know, I know, he didn't just snap. And I need to know who did this, and I need to make this right!" Desperation clawed at her as he stalked closer. "NO! DON'T TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!"

Klaus grabbed her, forcing her to look into his eyes so he could compel her. "You will do nothing. Your brother was ill. He killed those people and himself, and it was a tragedy. All you can do is move on."

He released her as tears fell from her eyes, she sunk down on her couch.

Klaus kept her gaze locked with his as he continued to compel her. "Know that your brother is at peace and that you needn't worry. And that is all that matters."

* * *

The smell of blood caused a pang of thirst in Caroline's throat as she opened the blood bag pouring it into a glass.

"How are you feeling?"

Caroline looked up and saw Klaus leaning in the kitchen doorway watching her.

"Fine." She mumbled. "What evil deeds were you up to today? Compelled any more unsuspecting women?"

Klaus pushed off the wall. "I won't have the same argument we already had today. Especially when I rather talk about what you were thinking being in the Bayou."

"I wasn't just in the Bayou. I was also in the French Quarter." She lifted the glass, taking a small sip of the blood.

Klaus expression darkened. "Have you lost your mind? It is not safe."

"I'm tired of hearing that." Caroline set her glass down, turning away to throw away the now empty blood bag.

"Well then listen for once! I'm trying to protect you."

His voice was closer than before and when she turned he was right there directly in front of her.

"I don't need you to protect me." Caroline glared.

"Right." Said Klaus. "Cause you don't want anything from me unless it's convenient for you."

"That is not true! Forgive me if I don't want to hide away like a coward. That is not who I am." She reached around him grabbing her glass to leave but he sped in front of her, blocking her.

"I've never asked you to be someone you aren't." his eyes flickered all over her face. "If you weren't exactly who you are I wouldn't care so bloody much."

"Then you shouldn't ask me to hide away here. I can't take being imprisoned like this."

"You are not imprisoned here." Klaus muttered, though after tonight he was tempted to lock her way if it meant she would stay out of harm's way.

"It may not have prison bars or cells but it's still a prison if I can't leave." She set her jaw stubbornly. "And I refuse to be anyone's prisoner, including yours."

Klaus jaw set, his fist clenching. "I don't want you to be my prisoner."

"Then don't treat me like one." She exclaimed. "Look, I know New Orleans is dangerous, and I'm taking precautions."

"Really?" he asked doubtfully raising a brow in question.

"I ask Rebekah to train me to take on older vampires."

"Why didn't you ask me?" he frowned.

"You're busy trying to dethrone Marcel and your plate is full."

"I would have made time for you." He said, relaxing a bit with the knowledge that Rebekah would be helping her learn to defend herself even if he rather do it himself.

"I know." But things were confusing between them enough as it was, she worried about the physical proximity she would have to deal with if she had asked him to train her.

She worried she would fall to temptation. The temptation of the strong attraction she still felt for Klaus, that same attraction that seemed to be steadily growing.

A silence fell over them and Caroline sipped at her drink to distract herself from the thick tension in the air she could practically feel.

"Rebekah said you had been knocked unconscious. How did they manage that? Snap your neck? Vervain? Magic?" he questioned.

Caroline moved back to the island to create some kind of distance between them, setting her glass on the counter. "No, they shot me in the back with vervain-soaked arrows."

Klaus strode forward, hating the thought, he cautiously moved behind her, his hand landing on her hip, he felt her tense beneath his hand but when she didn't pull away, he slipped his hand beneath her shirt, sliding his palm over the bare skin of her back.

Caroline gasped at the feel of his palm, she could feel the callouses on his fingers against her skin, causing her skin to heat beneath his touch.

"What- what are you doing?" She turned, making his hand fall away as she pressed back against the counter.

Klaus took in her flushed cheeks, her eyes a shade darker than he knew them to be. "I wanted to make sure you had healed."

"I'm a vampire. Of course, it healed already." She bit her lip.

Klaus said nothing, instead, his eyes drifted down to her mouth, wishing he was the one biting on it. Not hard enough to draw blood but to draw a pleasurable reaction from her.

He stepped forward, hands gripping the counter on either side of her, his body brushing against her.

And Caroline froze realizing she didn't want to push him away. No, she wanted to pull him closer than he already was.

He leaned in, stopping just a breath away from her lips.

Her lips parted in anticipation, her hands reaching out to grasp at him just as footsteps drew closer.

Caroline instinctively pushed him away creating space between them, just as Hayley appeared in the kitchen, pausing at the sight of them.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes." Klaus said as she answered with a "No."

Hayley looked between them doubtfully.

Caroline grabbed up her glass of blood. "Goodnight." She quickly left the kitchen, shaking her head at herself.

Things were going to get complicated if she gave into her attraction for Klaus. She wasn't sure she was ready for that when things were so complicated already.

* * *

Davina sat in her room in the church attic, an ache in her chest from tonight's events, touching Tim's broken violin. She turned sadly toward her wind chimes, using her magic to telekinetically make them play the song Tim played for her.

But when she heard a creak on the floorboards, she turned startled, her eyes going to the casket in the room. Elijah's casket.

She stood, walking cautiously toward Elijah's coffin when she heard a voice from behind her, she turned to see Elijah had been standing behind her, his skin gray from not feeding.

"It's all right, Davina. I don't mean you any harm, though I do think it's time we had a talk." He smiled a small smile at her and Davina hesitantly returned it.

* * *

 **A/N: Feel free to leave a review. I love to hear from readers. What you like, won't you don't or even what you would like to see happen.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:Okay, so I'm nervous about this chapter. Once you read it, I think you'll know why. If you don't like the direction all I'm going to ask is that you don't be rude about it.**

 **[Fair Warning] If you're a huge Hayley fan or you not a fan of baby plots you probably don't want to read further.**

 **There's a lot of Harvest flashbacks in this chapter. Feel free to skim over it if you don't want to bother reading that. The flashbacks or in italics. I tried to make sure it wasn't that confusing.**

 **I had planned to get this out sooner but I was in a foul mood earlier. I apologize for any mistakes or errors in advance.**

 **Last but not least, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!**

* * *

Elijah observed Davina calculatingly. He knew Rebekah and Klaus were trying to ensure his freedom but he saw this as an opportunity if he could sway Davina to their side they would gain the upper hand on Klaus and ensure the safety of Klaus's child. However, if he couldn't he would have to do whatever he had to to make sure his family came out on top including doing whatever was necessary.

His gray skin from not feeding a stark contrast against the suit he wore.

"You're the one they call honorable," Davina stated knowingly.

Elijah smiled in response. "Yes, that's what they call me. And yet, I followed my brother here to New Orleans to engage in a war. So, I ask you; does that sound honorable to you?"

"You don't look well," Davina commented, taking in his gray skin and disheveled appearance.

"Well, only this morning I had a mystical dagger embedded in my chest, so I'd say I'm holding myself together quite well." He paused momentarily choosing his words carefully. "Davina, I believe that you and I have the power to end a war between witches and vampires before it truly begins. I, by keeping my brother in line; you, by behaving like your true self—not some tool for Marcel or the witches."

"And why should I trust you?" Davina questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Well, for one thing, in spite of a ravenous hunger, I have not tried to take your blood."

"Why not? I'm the only one here." She pointed out.

"Even in my present condition, I would not feed from a child." Elijah declared.

Davina picked up a hat pin pricking her finger with it. A drop of blood clung to the end of the needle and she walked forward placing the drop on Elijah's lip, testing his control. Testing him.

After a moment, Elijah's skin returned to its normal slightly complexion.

Davina looking pleased that he hadn't attacked her with the taste of that one single drop of blood.

* * *

Klaus paced back in forth in the back kitchen of Rousseau's, blood splattered on his neck, dripping down the corner of his mouth and splatters on his hands.

When Sophie came in carrying bags of produce, she dropped everything to the floor at the sight of Klaus covered in blood.

"Oh my God. What did you do?!"

"No, it's not what I did." He strode forward, wrapping his hand tightly around her, yanking her forward, glowering down at her. "It's what did _you_ do? You and the witches? I warned you if anyone was too threatened Caroline's life there would be a price to pay in blood."

Sophie swallowed. "Who did you kill?"

"Two witches from your precious coven. You'll find the first one's body on your doorstep and the second one on Agnes's. In pieces, I might add." He nodded his head at the table and to her horror, there was a set of bloody eyeballs on the table along with a ripped out tongue."

Sophie gagged, bile rising. "Oh, God, I'm gonna be sick." She said revolted.

"Be quick about it then." He said before speeding away and she suddenly found herself in front of the Victorian mansion the Mikaelsons were currently occupying. She jerked forward with the change, the bile she felt churning in her stomach coming up as she retched into a rose bush next to the large Mikaelson Mansion.

When she was done, she barely had time to wipe her mouth before Klaus was dragging her inside and pushing her into a chair, pausing as he looked out the window and caught sight of Rebekah and Caroline outside. He shot her a look of warning. "Wait here!" He ordered before disappearing out the door expecting her to obey his command.

He was gone only two minutes when Hayley came bounding into the room closing the door a look of anger plastered on her face.

"Hayley, what the hell is going on?" Sophie asked her in alarm.

"What is going on is that Agnes set me up to be picked off by a group of witches!"

"What?" Sophie shook her head. "She wouldn't. That would jeopardize everything." Everything she and Jane-Anne did, everything they have done would have been for nothing.

"I didn't sign up for this. You promise to help me with my family, my pack if I helped you and your sister. And I have done everything you asked of me but I did not sign up to be slaughter out in the swamps!" Hayley's voice started to rise due to the anger she felt at almost dying. "I fucking became an incubator for children that aren't even mine! And for what? Just so I could be killed because suddenly Agnes decides she doesn't want Klaus's children being born!"

"Would you lower your voice!" Sophia snapped, looking out the window that overlooked the green field outside and she could see Klaus approaching Rebecca and Caroline who looked like they were in the middle of sparring. "If Klaus hears you I'm dead and you will be too as soon as those babies are born. He can't ever know the truth. He's already killed two of the witches of my coven for what happened."

"I know he can't ever know the truth. I don't need to be told that." Hayley lowered her voice. "If Klaus ever found out that we stole Caroline's children from her, their children, before either of them ever knew about them death would be the least of our worries." Hayley was sure of it. She was sure Klaus would make them suffer long before their death ever came.

"And that is why he can never find out," Sophie stressed, turning away from the window to look back at Hayley. "Everything from the moment we met would have been for nothing. Do you have any idea what I had to do to ensure that those babies came into existence after you told me about Klaus Mikaelson's one weakness." Sophie shook her head. "I needed more than one bargaining chip, more than one baby vamp. I had to plan and manipulate everything to go exactly accordingly to plan, down to every little detail and it wasn't easy. It was near impossible."

"They're not just bargaining chips." Hayley found herself saying. "They're more than that. They're innocent."

A look of surprise and knowing came over Sophie. "You've come to care for them like their actually yours, haven't you?"

Hayley looked away from her not wanting to admit it. Did it matter if she did or not? She was basically a womb snatcher or something.

"It's okay if you do, Hayley." Said Sophie in a moment of empathy for the wolf. "It's natural to feel love for children you're nurturing with your body."

"But their not mine," Hayley said, conflicted.

"Not biologically." Said Sophie. "But you're the one carrying them, you'll be the one to give birth to them. In that way, they'll be yours."

Hayley looked down her hand instinctively rubbing her stomach. "I can't imagine giving birth to them and having them being taken from me."

Sophie placed her hand on Hayley's shoulder. "If no one finds out the truth they won't have to be."

Hayley nodded. She just had to make sure Klaus never found out the truth about the pregnancy and when all was said and done, when Sophie kept her end of the deal she would leave and she would have her own pack and her own family in the children growing inside of her whether they were her's or not.

* * *

Klaus stood back watching as Rebekah tried to correct Caroline's leg stance and her arms.

"Don't tense up," Rebekah instructed. "You're body will react quicker and better if you relax."

"Kind of hard to relax if you're being attacked," Caroline responded, rolling her arms and trying to force her body to relax as Rebekah had instructed.

"Not if you're confident you're going to win." Rebekah retorted.

"That depends on if that is confidence or arrogance?"

Rebekah grinned. "In my case? Confidence."

"I'm sure." Caroline found herself returning Rebekah's grin with one of her own.

"Alright. So there are a few things you want to keep in mind when fighting old vampires. One; whatever you do if their really, really old, I'm talking centuries, do not give them the chance to knock your head clean off your shoulders."

Caroline's face scrunched up at the image. "Decapitation? Yeah, definitely wouldn't want to lose my head." She mumbled.

Klaus found himself letting out a chuckle at her mumbled words, he tried to cover it up but he had already drawn the attention of Rebekah and Caroline.

"Nik, been maiming again?" Rebekah asked sarcastically indicating the blood on him. "Or are you just going for a new look?"

"Couldn't let the witches think they were going to get away with what happened without consequences." He responded unrepentantly.

Caroline frowned. She couldn't say she was surprised by this. But still, it didn't mean she liked it. "Do I even want to know who you killed?"

"Probably not." He responded easily. "Getting an early start on training I see."

"Well, we were until you showed up." Said Rebekah.

"Well, you're gonna have to postpone it." He stated. "Sophie's here and she has some explaining to do. Figured you both would like to hear what she has to say."

"How considerate of you, Nik." Retorted Rebekah. "I guess there's a first time for everything," she walked forward brushing past him.

Klaus looked at Caroline. "Will you be joining us?"

Caroline nodded, walking forward and falling into step beside him. "Do you actually trust anything Sophie says?" She didn't, maybe that was her being petty about Sophie forcing her into this situation but there was just something desperate in the witches actions. At least they were to Caroline.

"If I don't trust my own family, I'm definitely not going to trust her." Klaus held the front door open for her.

Caroline paused in the doorway, searching his eyes. "But you trust me."

"Well, you're you," Klaus told her with an ease that if she had still been human would have her heart pounding in her chest. As it was, a feeling of warmth filled her chest.

She bit her lip with a faint smile, walking into the house. "So where is Sophie?"

Klaus placed a hand on her lower back as they walked further into the home. "In my study."

When they arrived at the study she saw only Sophie and Hayley. "Is this something Hayley should be here for?" She wondered. She thought Hayley should still be resting after what she went through in the bayou at least for the sake of the twins well being.

"No. She should be resting after her ordeal that the witches put her through." Rebekah stated

Hayley rolled her eyes. "I'm fine."

Sophie shifted around cautiously, her eyes on Klaus. "Look, I had nothing-"

"We had a deal!" Klaus cut her off angrily. "You protect my unborn children, Caroline remains unharmed, I dismantle Marcel's army. And whilst I've been busy fulfilling my part of the bargain, you allowed Hayley to be attacked and almost killed by a gaggle of lunatic witches." His eyes flashed black and amber momentarily. "If she died my children would have died. _Caroline_ would have died!"

Caroline felt a shiver course through her with the anger in which he spoke of the possibility of her death. Like it was not an option for him.

"I had nothing to do with it, I swear." She defended herself, feeling a real flash of fear at his hybrids eyes that had shown briefly. "Hayley and I are linked, remember? She dies, I die."

"Then who were they?" Rebekah questioned, eyes narrowed.

"They are a faction of extremists. Sabine stupidly told them about some vision she had about the twins."

"What kind of vision?" asked Klaus, stepping back to stand beside Caroline, reaching to the desk and opening the drawl, removing a white cloth, wiping the blood from his hands and mouth that he had gotten on him earlier when he killed and mutilated the two witches.

"She has them all the time," Sophie informed them. "They are totally open to interpretation. I'm guessing she's wrong on this one."

"Well, how, may I ask, was this particular vision interpreted?" Klaus insisted on his line of questioning.

"Pretty much that your children would bring death to all witches," Sophie told him.

"Figures as much that your children would follow in your footsteps." Caroline cast a look at Klaus, while the words could be interpreted as harsh, it was said without any malice and she even had a small smile.

Klaus returned her smile with a full one. "Ah, well. I grow fonder of the twins by the second."

"Sophie, look, I promised Elijah that I would protect the Mikaelson miracle twins whilst he tries to win your witch Davina's loyalty," Rebekah informed her. "Why don't you tell me just how extreme this faction is?"

"Elijah's talking to Davina?" Sophie asked surprised by this information.

"Yeah. As we speak, I imagine."

"I'm guessing she'll have plenty to say about that crowd." Murmured Sophie.

"Do tell." Said Klaus.

"I… wasn't always an advocate for the witches," Sophie admitted.

Klaus moved around the room, grabbing a chair and pulling it forward. "Why don't you have a seat, Love." He grasped Caroline's hand pulling her forward.

Caroline looked at him in surprise at the gesture.

"Sounds like we're in for a story you shouldn't be spending it standing." He insisted.

Hayley quirked a brow at them. She was already sitting but she doubted even if she wasn't that Klaus would've shown her the same consideration he showed Caroline.

"Thanks." Caroline took the seat, appreciating his kind gesture.

"I don't see you offering me a seat." Rebekah cut in, sending Klaus a dry look.

"By all means, if you like to sit down take a seat, sister." He responded, hands on the back of the chair Caroline sat in.

Sophie paused as she watched Klaus with Caroline, how he kept close to her when in the same room, the way his eyes constantly flickered to her, taking everything in about her.

She kept the frown from her face, seeing the way he was with her and his earlier threat she prayed that he never found out the truth about the pregnancy.

* * *

 **8 Months ago**

 _Sophie danced to the music behind the bar of Rousseau's as the crowd cheered loudly._

 _"Woo, drink up everybody!" Sophie shouted to the cheering crowd. "This is how they party in Rio!" she poured the liquor down her throat straight from the bottle._

* * *

 _"_ My sister was devoted, like our parents, and our upbringing was very strict, which drove me nuts. The minute I turned 21, I left the Quarter to travel... and play." Sophie said.

Caroline raised a brow, she would not have taken Sophie for a party girl. Not with what she knew of her so far.

* * *

 _Sophie poured alcohol into another girl's mouth before kissing her after the girl swallowed the drink down._

* * *

"But, I wanted to be a chef, so I came back to Rousseau's." Sophie continued with her story.

* * *

 _"Oh, Jane-Anne!" Sophie greeted when her sister walked into Rousseau's to find her._

 _Jane-Anne smiled, hugging her sister. "Welcome home, Soph. Can we go someplace to talk?"_

 _"Just tell me."_

 _"The elders called a vote. We're moving forward with the Harvest." Jane-Anne informed her._

 _Sophie looked at her sister, stunned. "What?_ "

* * *

"What the bloody hell is a Harvest?" Rebekah demanded, having never heard of it before.

"It's a ritual our coven does every three centuries so that the bond to our magic is restored. We appease our ancestors, they keep our ancestral power flowing." Sophie explained.

"And why haven't I heard of this?" Klaus wondered, it sounded like something he would have heard of before.

"Because a Harvest always seemed like a myth. A story passed on through generations like Noah's ark, or the Buddha walking on water." Said Sophie. "The kind some people take literally, and some people don't."

"So was there any truth behind it?" Caroline wondered. "And what exactly does the ritual entail."

"Nothing pleasant," Sophie admitted, unable to keep from grimacing.

* * *

 _Several young witches kneeled in the grass just outside a farmhouse. An older witch held a knife in her hand as she drew a small cut in the first girl's hand, she had long dark curly hair. "To be reborn, we must sacrifice," Bastiana stated like a vow. A chant._

 _"To be reborn, we must sacrifice." The young girl repeated._

 _Bastiana moved down the line to the second girl. "To be reborn, we must have faith." Bastiana cut into her hand much like she did the first girl._

 _"To be reborn, we must have faith." The second girl repeated._

 _"Do you have faith in the Harvest?" asked Bastiana as she cut into the third girl's hand._

 _"Not for a second!" Sophie declared as she approached the older witch quickly from behind the girls._

 _"Sophie!" The first girl said in surprise._

 _"What are you doing?" Sophie's eyes were set on the older witch anger in her dark eyes._

 _"Saving the community you renounced." Bastiana looked at her with contempt._

 _"You're all ridiculous." Sophie looked at the first girl who had spoken her name. "Monique, seriously?"_

 _Monique frowned and with a look of reluctance admitted. "My mom told me I had to."_

 _"Yeah. Well, your mom and I are gonna have words." She responded angrily storming off toward the house._

 _At the end of the line was Davina watching as Sophie stormed away._

* * *

"They had the girls of our community preparing for months. Four would be chosen for the Harvest. They said that it was an honor, that they were special. I thought it was a myth." Said Sophie.

"Was it?" asked Rebekah.

A look of guilt flickered across Sophie's face, her frown deepening but before she could answer, Klaus's cell phone ringing sounded through the room.

He glanced at the screen and Marcel's name flashed across it. He swiped his thumb over it before placing it against his ear. "Marcel. Bit early in the day for you, isn't it?"

" _I know, I make this look easy, but I still have an empire to run."_

Caroline looked over her shoulder at Klaus, curiosity written across her face at hearing Marcel's voice for the first time even if it was filtering through a phone call. Admittedly she was rather curious about the man that was a lot like a son to Klaus, she wondered what he was like having been raised up by the Original family.

"Rather you than me. All that responsibility seems like such a bore." Klaus spoke into the phone easily.

" _Well, this might spice things up,"_ Marcel responded. _"I just heard about a bunch of dead witches out in the bayou. The kinda damage a werewolf might do, only there was no full moon. Plus two more were found in the witch Quarter mutilated. I have an informant out there in the Bayou I need to meet and I would love for you to go with me."_

"Dead witches in the bayou. Sounds like less of a problem, and more like a cause for celebration." Klaus said in response to Marcel. "As for the dead witches in the Witch Quarter." he turned his gaze on Sophie. "Seems to me someone was sending a message."

Sophie glared hatefully at him and it gave him a sense of triumph, he smirked smugly at her.

" _Well, something killed them. And may still be out there. And with your blood the only cure for a werewolf bite, I would love for you to accompany me."_ Marcel insisted.

"Oh, why not? Haven't been to the bayou in ages. I'm on my way."

" _Peace out, brother,"_ Marcel responded before hanging up.

"You can't go out there now." Sophie protested as Klaus pocketed his phone. "I need to gather the witches' remains and consecrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown, we'll lose the link to their magic." she glared at him. "That goes for the witches you killed as well."

"Those witches tried to kill Hayley. I'd prefer for Marcel's informant not to find anything that would lead him back to us, to Caroline, to Hayley, or to... you know," He pointed at Hayley's stomach. "that."

Caroline snorted earning a glare from Hayley.

"You are all class." Hayley snarked.

Klaus pointed at Sophie. "Stay put." He ordered. "And save the rest of your story 'til I return." He turned and looked down at Caroline placing a hand on her arm. "A word before I go, Sweetheart."

Caroline's brow furrowed unsure of what he had to talk to her about but stood, curious about what it could be. She followed him out the room and outside onto the porch.

Klaus turned to face her. "I know you're dead set on not hiding away as you put it and I'm not going to try and tell you what to do. Just don't be reckless. I hate to have to kill everyone in this bloody city because something happened to you."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm not reckless."

Klaus raised a brow at her. "Since you've been in New Orleans you have been."

"No, I haven't," she replied indignantly. "Things are just crazy here."

Klaus would have argued with her more about it but Marcel was expecting him. "Just be careful, will you."

Caroline felt her instinct to argue with him fade at the genuine sound of his voice which held concern. "Yeah, I will." she watched him carefully, eyes flickering across his face. "I thought you would insist I stay put like you have been ever since this all started."

"Oh, I want to," Klaus said with a shake of his head. "Believe me, I want to. But your you're own person and you have the right to make your own decisions and I'm gonna do my best to respect them." he smiled wryly. "I don't know how well that will go. You're just gonna have to be patient with me."

Caroline laughed. "I'm sorry." she laughed. "It's just really ironic you asking for patience when I'm pretty sure you don't know how to be."

Klaus' eyes lit with amusement but he loved hearing her laugh and the way her eyes lit up. "Yeah, yeah. Just be careful."

"I will," she told him. "And thank you for understanding I make my own decisions. I hate when people tell me what to do."

"I know." he leaned forward, brushing a kiss across her cheek, close to her mouth. "I'll see you later." he walked down the porch steps.

"Why do you do that?" Klaus turned back to her on the bottom step, his brow furrowing questioningly. "I mean, the kissing my cheek thing."

Klaus smirked. "I love pressing my lips against your skin."

Caroline opened and closed her mouth, her cheeks heating up as she watched him turn and leave. She blew out a breath as she remembered vaguely what it had been like to have his lips against her skin that one night when she threw caution to the wind and slept with him. It seemed so long ago but she could still remember the way he had kissed her, the way his mouth felt against her skin, the way his tongue tangled with her own.

A heated flush traveled through her. "Damn him."

* * *

Marcel swept into St. Anne's church.

"Look who's back." Father Kieran, stopped sweeping the church floor. "Here to visit your prisoner in the attic?"

"Lay off," Marcel responded, he didn't need Father Kieran judging him. "She's not a prisoner. And I'm moving her tonight. Too many people know where she is."

"I have been hearing about what you've been up to since I've been out of town. Using that girl to keep the witches from doing magic?" His eyes appraised Marcel accusingly.

"All respect, Father K. If you're going defend the witches' rights, we got nothin' to talk about," Marcel stated, continuing on his way up to the attic.

* * *

Elijah walked around the attic of the church that was serving as a room for Davina, who was drawing, he picked up Tim's damaged violin, holding it in his hand. "Do you play?"

Davina looked over at him, her gaze falling. "That's... not mine."

Elijah took a seat in a chair and started tinkering with the violin for a moment but when he heard approaching footsteps outside the room he hid away in the room just as Marcel entered.

"Good news, Little D. I'm moving you out this pile of dust." he announced.

"Are you serious?" Davina's eyes lit up with hope. "When?"

"Tonight." He said, missing the way she faltered. "I just need to lock in the arrangements. How's our Original?" he gestured to Elijah's coffin and took a step toward it.

"Uh, don't disturb the body!" She quickly stepped in front of the coffin. She didn't want Marcel to know Elijah was up or that she was talking to him. "I have a spell in progress." she lied.

"Bet you do. Pack up, 'kay? Only what you wanna take. I'll buy ya anything else you need." He told her moving back toward the door.

"Okay," she answered just before he left.

Once Marcel was gone Elijah emerged from behind a corner. "You didn't reveal that I was awake."

"We're not done talking yet," Davina stated, it was the only reason she hadn't said anything to Marcel.

Elijah picked up the violin again, retaking his seat. "You and Marcel seem very close."

"Marcel's my family." Davina declared with a certainty, a feeling she felt in her bones. No one could tell her otherwise.

"And yet Marcel is someone who delights in harming the witches. Those people, I would think, you would consider family. This doesn't trouble you?" Elijah inquired, trying to figure the young witch out if she was as loyal to Marcel as she seemed to believe herself to be.

"No. They deserve it."

Elijah could hear the defiance in her tone. "Why would you say that?"

"'Cause they're liars." Davina accused. "All of them."

* * *

 _Bastiana touched each of the four girls kneeling in the grass on their foreheads indicating that they had been chosen. Monique, Davina, and two other girls had been chosen for something that was considered a great honor among the witch community._

* * *

"They made me and my friends do this Harvest ritual. They said our participation would bring our family strength, health... that we'd forever be celebrated as saviors of the community." Davina shook her head, anger written all over her features. "But all they really wanted was more power. So, I left before they could get it. Now, they're running out of time, because after the Harvest, comes the Reaping. And if they don't complete the Harvest, there won't be a Reaping. Soon, all the witches in the Quarter will start to lose their power. Eventually, they will cease to be witches altogether."

"So what does it take to complete this ritual?" Elijah inquired.

"I have to die." Davina answered, shocking Elijah.

* * *

Sophie was in Lafayette cemetery, packing a little bottle into her backpack, preparing to go out to the Bayou, she heard someone entering the mausoleum behind her only to see Hayley enter.

"Hey. What the hell?"

"You're going out there anyway, aren't you?" Hayley questioned but didn't wait for an answer. "I wanna go with you."

"No, thanks. Already got assaulted by Klaus this morning and two of my coven is now dead. Don't need a repeat." she responded, plus she didn't want everything she and her sister sacrificed to be for nothing.

"What if whatever is responsible for all those dead witches is still out there? We've already established that it likes me and hates witches, so you'll be safer with me." Hayley bargained.

"Sorry if it's not happening. I won't risk losing everything we've tried to accomplish up until now."

Sophie had every intention to push past her but Hayley blocked the exit, forcing her to stop.

"Listen. We're in this together. The whole reason I came to this stupid town in the first place was to learn more about my family. You and your sister promised if I help you, you'll help me. I've been keeping to my part," She motioned to her stomach pointedly. "Now it's time you do too. Your sister's the one that told me Marcel ran the werewolves out of the Quarter, into the bayou. And, last night, I'm pretty sure that some guardian-angel-wolf saved my life. So, I'm coming with you."

"Could you two be more idiotic?" Rebekah walked in.

"Clearly." Caroline appeared. "Their planning to go out to the Bayou aren't they?

Hayley and Sophie both froze. Hayley hoped they hadn't overheard too much but when she saw no signs of real anger she figured her and Sophie's secret was still safe, they shared a brief moment, sighing in relief.

"Two can play the follow-game, you know!" Rebekah told them, looking at them like they were two of the stupidest people she ever met. "You heard Klaus, he and Marcel are headed right where you're going."

"So distract them," Hayley told her. "Because unless you wanna see lock a hormonal, pregnant werewolf in a tomb, I'm coming with you." she told Sophie before turning back to Rebekah. "And wouldn't Elijah be mad if he hears that the babies and I died of asphyxiation?"

"Yeah, I'm nowhere near ready to die so that won't be happening." Caroline said with a pointed look. "Which is why I am here in the first place. If you're doing something stupid and reckless, I'm coming to make sure you don't get killed." Caroline wasn't about to let Hayley and Sophie get her killed because Hayley went and got herself killed. And she cared about what happened to the babies.

Hayley shot her a glare. " I know to keep myself from being killed."

"I won't be taking any chances." said Caroline, crossing her arms over her chest challengingly.

Rebekah looked between Hayley and Caroline annoyed though she could see where Caroline was coming from, if her life was linked to a pregnancy she wouldn't have let Hayley out of her sight.

Sophie rolled her eyes and sighed again, resigning to having Hayley, Caroline, and Rebekah come along with her. She and Hayley would have to be careful with what they say, couldn't have Caroline or Rebekah find out their true connection.

* * *

Klaus stood just outside of the bar in the Bayou his phone pressed to his ear. "What's the matter, Rebekah? You cross that I'm out with your ex?"

" _What is all that dreadful hillbilly ruckus in the background?_ " Rebekah demanded, hearing the god-awful country music in the background.

"According to the dreadful signage, it's Big Auggie's Bayou Bar."

" _Well, order up a few rounds of moonshine and steer clear of the dead witches for a few. The witch is on a burial mission, your baby mama is on a spirit quest, and Caroline is insistent on her not getting herself killed and in turn her killed._ " Who would have thought she and Caroline would agree on something. " _and I'm keeping Elijah's promise to keep her safe, so stall, please? "_

"Caroline's out in the Bay-" the sound of Rebekah hanging up on him, had his jaw clenching in annoyance and anger. He was choosing to trust that Caroline could handle herself. He pocketed his phone, entering the bar.

"Everything okay?" asked Marcel taking notice of Klaus's sour mood.

"Oh, just the usual. Temperamental sister." He dismissed, taking a seat at the bar next to Marcel. "So, where's your informant?"

"Tomas?" Asked Marcel. "He's out sniffin' around. Grab a drink, and then we'll chase him down."

"Well, I suppose it will give us a chance to talk things over, like why you haven't returned Elijah. Maybe your young witch has grown partial to his company. She must get so bored."

"You never stop, do you?" asked Marcel.

"You never answer, do you?" Klaus shot back at him.

"Why're you so curious about Davina?" Marcel questioned with suspicion.

"If I had a 16-year-old, all-powerful witch at my beck and call, you would wonder about her, too. " Klaus responded with ease.

"You're never gonna get her." Marcel said confidently, a spark in his eye.

"Okay, okay. I'll ask the harmless questions, then." Klaus conceded. "How did you meet her?"

Marcel laughed. "That might surprise you." he saw no real harm in answering this question. "This was eight months ago, before I banned the witches from using magic. Relations between vampires and witches weren't what you'd you call friendly, by any means, but let's just say we were a little less... divided. In fact, some of us were getting along just fine."

* * *

 _The water cascaded down her body as she slanted her mouth against Marcel's, their skin slick and wet from the running shower beating down on them. After, Marcel laid back in his bed, while Sophie dried herself off beside him, venting to him about her coven. "Ugh, it's so screwed up, I'm dealing with whacked-out, militant witches."_

 _Marcel smiled. "Hey, you witches all got a little crazy in you."_

 _Sophie continued. "And my sister has really gone off the deep-end this time."_

 _"Jane-Anne's got martyr written all over her, that's for sure."_

 _"They've got every 16-year-old girl in our coven dying to be one of the four chosen for this crazy-ass_ ritual. _" Sophie complained._

 _"Anything I can do to help?" asked Marcel._

 _"No, you've caused enough trouble with_ them. _" Sophie responded though she did appreciate the offer._

 _"What, little old me?" He asked with an air of innocence and confidence._

 _Sophie giggled. "You're a dick. You always stir it up with the witches. Which is why this," She leaned over, touching her mouth to his, "stays between us." she slanted her mouth over his kissing him deeply._

* * *

"You and Sophie?" Kaus smirked. "You hypocrite. You torture those witches, and yet there you were, getting positively Romeo and Juliet with Sophie Deveraux."

"Oh, hey hey hey, it wasn't like that." Marcel denied with a grin. "It was a... mutually satisfying hook-up."

"So, if Sophie didn't turn to you, her secret vampire lover, in her hour of need, what did she do?" asked Klaus.

"She did what any good girl do. She went to her priest."

* * *

 _Sophie, Father Kieran, Jane-Anne, Bastiana, and Agnes were gathered_ inside _St. Anne's Church._

 _"You've never cared about witch business, Sophie. And now, you have the gall to reveal our private dealings to an_ outsider. _" said Bastiana glaring at the dark haired woman._

 _"You have to find another way." Insisted Father Kieran._

 _"You think we do this lightly?" Bastiana demanded. "The vampire presence in the Quarter is growing stronger, we need more power to fight them off. Harsh times call for harsh measures."_

 _"This is a little more than harsh,_ Bastiana. _" Sophie responded, how could Bastiana not see how wrong this was._

 _"You don't_ understand, _because you don't believe. You've never believed." Jane-Anne told Sophie. "But I believe enough to put everything on the line for this. And being chosen for the offering – it's an honor."_

 _"It's a myth, Jane-Anne." Sophie wanted to make her sister see reason but she didn't know how to._

 _"What you are planning to do is not only wrong; in my city, it's illegal." Father Kieran declared, it wasn't something he could knowingly allow._

 _"In your city full of vampires?" Jane-Anne countered._

 _"The vampires and the human faction have an arrangement, just like we have with you all." Father Kieran responded. "Protect the locals, protect our homes, we look the other way. What you are planning goes too far."_

 _"We are simply taking what we need." Argued Bastiana. "Our connection to our ancestors weakens over time. You sow, and you reap; that's the way the Harvest works."_

 _"I am the only ally the witches have in this town!" Father Kieran reminded heatedly. "Do you really wanna face Marcel without me? Because that is what you'll be dealing with if you go through with the Harvest."_

 _A young man overhears them arguing and approached them. "Everything okay in here, Uncle Kieran?" He questioned in concern._

 _"We're just finishing, Sean. Right?" Father Kieran glared at the witches. "I believe I've made myself clear."_

 _"We'll take this matter to_ the elders. _" Agnes responded turning to Sean and grasping his hand in hers. "Continue your studies, Sean. Your uncle is an excellent role model." she smiled something beguiling. Sean nodded and as she turned to leave, she muttered a hex under her breath, hexing the young man. Father Kieran would regret putting his nose in their business. Something that had absolutely nothing to do with the Father._

* * *

"The witches were furious with Kieran." said Marcel. "Sophie tells me that the witches put a hex on his nephew Sean, made it seem like he was slowly losing his mind in order to distract Kieran, while they kept planning for the Harvest."

"So they attacked Kieran's nephew." Klaus realized.

"Yeah. Kid wasn't the same after that, ended up going postal, killing all his fellow seminary students, all of them, and then himself."

"I might have read about that. The boy... killed a twin, or he was a twin or something." he said knowing the boy was Cami's twin.

"Ah, no no no, they said he had a twin sister." Marcel said, confirming his suspicions.

Marcel sipped at his liquor, while Klaus downed all of his in one gulp.

* * *

Elijah still tinkered around with the broken violin as Davina had started packing her suitcase.

"So, enlighten me. What did you mean when you said you had to die?" Inquired Elijah.

"That's what the Harvest was." Davina informed him. "They said they'd put us four girls in a state of, like, peaceful limbo as part of the offering. And then later, at the Reaping, we'd awaken and be reborn. I never got as far as the limbo part, which means the Harvest isn't complete. That's why the witches are so freaked out. The Reaping is just around the corner, and if they don't finish it before then, it's over. All I have to do is wait it out."

"And then what?" asked Elijah.

"They're punished, and I'm free." She stated, she hoped and dreamed of that day when this stupid nightmare she'd been living would finally be over.

"From Marcel?" Elijah questioned.

Davina shook her head. "Of magic." she corrected. "All our power will drain away. I'll be normal." she smiled slightly at the thought.

"Is that what you want?" asked Elijah rather surprised she would want something so mundane. "To be normal?"

"I just don't wanna be what I am. I can't control it sometimes. Magic. I..." Davina's eyes grew wet, a feeling of guilt in her chest. "hurt people. Even when I don't mean to."

"Why don't you tell me about your friends." Elijah suggested encouragingly. "You must miss them."

"There's Tim. He doesn't know about any of this witch stuff. He's normal. My best friend, Monique. She was a part of the Harvest too." She replied before adding. "She's lucky. No one ever fought for me, but someone fought for her. The only one who ever spoke out against the Harvest was Monique's aunt."

"And who is that?" Elijah wondered.

Davina sighed. "Sophie Deveraux."

Elijah looked at her in shock at the name and everything he was learning about the Harvest and everyone involved.

* * *

Sophie, Rebekah, Caroline, and Hayley walked through the Bayou to look for the dead witches.

"So, this Harvest thingy—tell me more." Rebekah told Sophie.

"Klaus said to wait." Sophie insisted.

"Yeah, you seemed to listen to everything he says." Caroline drawled out sarcastically. "Or we not out in the swamps?"

"Exactly," Rebekah waved a hand at Caroline. "here we are, amongst the crawly, buzzy creatures."

"We're here." Hayley announced suddenly.

Caroline looked around and it was definitely the place where the witches were killed. Their bodies or what was left of them littered the ground in bloody ripped apart pieces, heads torn from the bodies.

Sophie's stomach churned in disgust, feeling sick to her stomach at the sight, she knelt down digging around in her bag for the ingredients she needed to consecrate her fallen witches.

Hayley's eyes widened as she caught sight of a huge pawprint in the mud. "Whoa." And not far from the pawprint there were three bloody scratches marking the bark of a tree.

Sophie's brow furrowed. "Is that a wolf track?"

Caroline's head whipped around when she heard a crunching noise like sticks being stepped on. Her eyes zeroed in on an approaching male as Rebekah called out. "Who's there?"

"Rebekah."

Rebekah followed Caroline's line of sight.

"What the hell? An Original?" The vampire questioned.

Caroline felt her chest tightened they couldn't let anyone know they were out in the bayou. She ran at him but he booked it.

"Caroline, no!" Rebekah cursed, under her breath. "Fuck.

Caroline could hear Rebekah calling after her but she ignored her and pushed faster to catch up to the guy and by some miracle she did, stepping in his path.

"Get out of my way" he growled.

"Can't do that." she tensed when he advanced on her and it was like her body acted on instinct alone. When his hand reached out to grabbed her she grabbed his wrist before he could touch her, twisting it behind his back, she shifted behind him bringing her knee up before bringing it back down on the back of his leg, she heard the bones breaking as he collapsed to his knee with a cry of pain, acting quickly she gripped his head and gave it a violent twist, snapping his neck, she pushed him away, his body crumpling to the floor.

"I gotta say you're a quick learner."

Caroline looked to her left and saw Rebekah standing there. "I just reacted to my instincts." She let her instincts take over and it felt good. Fuck, did it feel good to be in control again. "Is this going to be a problem? Should we call Klaus?" She didn't wait for Rebekah to answer already nodding to her own question. "I'm gonna call, Klaus."

* * *

Klaus glanced down at his phone ringing, Caroline's name flashing. "I have to take this." he didn't bother waiting for Marcel's response as he walked outside. "Caroline, is everything alright?"

" _Depends on your definition?_ " She responded.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

" N _o, I'm fine but I might have taken down one of Marcel's guys out in the bayou ._ " She hedged cautiously. " _Well, Rebekah thinks he might be Marcel's informant._ "

Klaus rolled his eyes heavenward. "And where was Rebekah during this encounter?"

"He caught me by surprise ." Rebekah huffed and realized Caroline must have handed her the phone.

"Let me understand this: against all logic, you, Caroline and Hayley went to the bayou, where you ran into a man you think may be Marcel's informant, and Caroline took him down?"

"She was quite efficient but now we have a problem, what do we do with him now that he saw us?"

"I'll handle it, but I'll need a distraction," he told her. And he wanted to see that Caroline was unharmed with his own eyes.

"I'm on my way." Rebekah hung up.

Klaus frowned, he would have rather talk to Caroline before she hung up. He pocketed his phone before going back inside.

"Your sister again?" asked Marcel as Klaus retook his seat at the bar.

"She craves attention. So come along, you were just getting to the juicy bits."

"I can't joke around about this." said Marcel on a more serious note. "I've done a lot in my day, but I do have a rule about kids."

* * *

"No one but Sophie ever questioned the Harvest." said Davina. "Not even my own mother. So neither did I. We thought it was such an honor, we had such faith." Her face twisted in bitterness. "We were so stupid."

"So how did it begin?" asked Elijah.

"We were led out like princesses. My mother was so proud."

* * *

 _Night had fallen, and the four girls were led out into the Lafayette Cemetery by the elders to start the Harvest. There were birdbaths with_ liquid _that was lit on fire burning around them, creating a bright orange glow._

 _Bastiana started speaking. "Our magic fades as our ties to our ancestors weaken over time. We beseech them, accept this offering as a sign of our faith."_

 _The girls knelt in a row in the middle of the crowd of people, of witches gathered._

 _"Bastiana, one of the Elders, called upon the four elements to bind our past and future magic together. Earth, to connect us to our ancestors. Water, to heal the community. Wind, to carry us to our ancestors and back. Fire, to purify." Davina went on to continue telling Elijah her story. "After all our preparation, we knew exactly what to expect. For weeks they told us that the magic in the knife they used to cut our palms would put us to_ sleep, _and that later at the Reaping, we would all be resurrected. They said we'd awaken, and all be together and more powerful than ever. And it was just like we rehearsed it. All that was left was a little cut on our palms for the blood sacrifice."_

 _The first girl in the row stood up to begin the Harvest but it was interrupted immediately after when Sophie ran into the cemetery. "No! Stop! Bastiana, stop! You have to stop, Bastiana, please don't do this!"_

 _A male witch wrapped his arms around Sophie restraining her, covering her mouth with his hand so she couldn't intervene further or scream creating a larger scene._

 _"Even after Sophie tried to stop it, we didn't suspect_ anything. _" Davina stated._

 _"To be born, you must sacrifice. Do you have faith?" Bastina asked the girl._

 _The girl nodded in response and held out her hand for the blood sacrifice. But instead of taking her hand Bastiana slit the girl's throat, the young witch falling to the ground. The other three girls started to scream in terror, but they were restrained so that they couldn't run away. Davina's mother stared straight ahead at her daughter screams, unflinchingly._

* * *

"Everyone involved in the ritual knew that this would happen." Elijah realized.

"Except the four of us. They weren't putting us to sleep, they were _slaughtering_ us!" Davina said with pure betrayal.

* * *

 _The next young witch was pushed forward and Bastiana slashed her throat despite her protests and her fear._

 _"No, no!" Davina screamed._

 _"Monique_ Deveraux. _" Bastina said._

 _"NO, NO, NOOO!" Davina screamed as a man forced Monique forward._

* * *

"I begged for someone to help. My own mother turned away from me." She recalled how much it hurt that her own mother didn't lift a single finger to help her. "Sophie screamed and screamed for her sister, anyone, to do something."

* * *

" _What is wrong with you!?" Sophie screamed at them all in horror._

 _A worried look flickered across Jane-Anne but still, she did nothing. Said nothing._

* * *

 _"_ But no one did." Said Davina, not a single member of their coven.

"And yet you survived." Elijah said pointedly. "Therefore, someone or something intervened."

Davina nodded. "Yes. Someone finally did."

* * *

" _Monique, run away! Run away!" Sophie shouted right before a shrill whistle cut through the horror and a group of vampires descended, killing the witches, led by one man. "Marcel."_

* * *

"You're the one who stopped it." Klaus stated, appraising Marcel closely.

"Kieran knew every detail from Sophie. After his nephew's massacre in the church, he was so torn up. He left town just before the Harvest. But on his way out, he came to me, and he asked me to stop the Harvest. He knew I didn't want the witches getting any more power. And I do have a rule about people abusing kids, so, I did what he asked." Marcel shook his head ruefully. "But I was too late."

* * *

 _The vampires attacked the Elders. One of them ripping into Bastianna's throat, draining her dry before letting her dead boy fall to the ground, the magic knife she used to slit the girl's throats clattering to the ground. Agnes acted quickly picking up the fallen knife, grabbing Monique, slashing her throat clean open._

 _Davina screamed, hysterical and trying to break free of the arms around her as hard as she could. "No, Monique! Nooo! Let go of me! Stop it! Stop it! Let go of me! Stop it!"_

 _Marcel watched as she screamed and rage and fought back, thrashing, headbutting the guy holding her in the face. Marcel sprung into action, killing the man quickly and taking Davina protectively into his arms. "I got you." He murmured, doing his best to assure her that she was safe. That he would protect her._

* * *

"There was something about seeing Davina fight." Marcel said, sloshing his drink around in his glass. "She didn't just go along to the slaughter, you know?"

Klaus smiled slightly thinking of a younger version of the man sitting next to him. "I do... Marcellus."

A somber look came over Marcel. "I felt like she and I... we were kindred spirits. "

Klaus could understand where Marcel was coming from. He had felt the same when he met him.

* * *

M _arcel held Davina protectively to him while Sophie knelt on the ground, holding Monique's body in her lap. Grief-stricken, Sophie looked up at Marcel and Davina. Davina extended her hand out toward Monique. A light inside Monique leaked out from her body and into Davina's outstretched hand, Sophie and Marcel stare at her in utter amazement._

* * *

"Every girl who died released her power on to the next. When I was the last one, I suddenly had all of it, all the power that was supposed to be released back into the earth to appease our ancestors." Davina explained.

"So... the Harvest was actually working?" Elijah inquired.

"Something was working." She couldn't be sure it was the harvest and she did not want to find out. "And I knew that I was supposed to be killed so the Harvest could be completed and we would all be resurrected. But, they lied to us about how they were killing us. How do I know they weren't lying to us about coming back?" She paused, falling silent for just a moment before admitting. "But mostly, I just didn't want to die. So, I let him save me. Marcel saved my life."

* * *

 _Marcel watched the look of surprise flicker across Sophie's face and vamp-sped himself and Davina out of there before the witches could take her back and complete the sacrifice by killing her._

* * *

Elijah felt a strong wave of disgusted by how Davina, someone who was still a child in the larger scheme of things was treated, he felt an equally strong wave of sympathy for her it was no wonder the girl latched onto Marcel and trusted him to keep her safe.

"You were quite the knight in shining armor, though Davina must realize you owe her as much as she owes you. You never could have banned the witches from using magic without her." Klaus stated.

"She's not exactly besties with them." Marcel responded. "I'm protecting her. A lot of them would like to get their hands on her and kill her to finish the Harvest. If they don't, the other girls stay dead, and they lose their power."

"And if they do, you lose yours." Klaus said knowingly.

"And Davina loses her life." Marcel stated.

"Isn't this like old times?" Rebekah said in greeting announcing her arrival. "Just how drunk are you two?"

"Skating on the razor's edge." Klaus responding intentionally slurring his words as if he was actually drunk. "I'm gonna use the loo. Back in a tick."

"I haven't seen him this lushy since the '20s." Said Rebekah, once he got up from his seat, disappearing from sight.

"So you came to take him home?" asked Marcel.

"Why else would I be here?" She responded.

"I don't know. Maybe to make sure I didn't get too drunk and spill secrets better left unspilled about you and me. I know better." He told her.

"I hope so because you don't wanna end up on the wrong side of me." she threatened.

"Oh, Rebekah Mikaelson." he said, locking his gaze on hers. "You do not wanna be on the wrong side of me."

The two stare at each other intently, gazes lock, a quiet tension falling over them.

* * *

Klaus walked outside glancing around before taking off heading for tha Bayou. It didn't take long for him to hear Sophie complaining. "Marcel is going to notice his guy missing. You shouldn't have done that."

"No, I should have just let him go back to Marcel with what he saw." Caroline retorted. "That would have been a much better option. Wouldn't it? All you care about is consecrating your dead witches."

"If I don't their power could be lost forever." Sophie insisted.

"And won't that be tragic you could no longer control peoples lives to suit your own agenda." Caroline sniped.

"Could you two stop arguing for five minutes." Hayley snapped annoyed with their bickering. "You're going to lead someone straight to us."

"Too late for that." Klaus stated, watching as Caroline whirled around her annoyed expression quickly fading.

"Klaus." She said and there was an edge of relief in her voice that he enjoyed.

He moved toward and glanced at the body she stood over. "I take this is, Marcel's informant, Tomas?"

Caroline nodded. "I just acted when I saw him and I have no idea what we're supposed to do with him now."

Klaus settled his hand on her shoulder. "No, you did good. You weren't hurt were you?" He asked his eyes looking her over carefully.

"No, it was over really fast," Caroline said, a little surprised that she had taken care of him so quickly.

"Don't sound surprise, Love." He grinned at her. "I think you'll find you're more than exceptional when you set your mind to something."

"Are you going to flirt with Caroline until he wakes up or can we get to the issue at hand." Sophie waved a hand at the currently dead vampire.

Klaus shot her a glare. "Mind your tongue." before ignoring her completely turning back to Caroline. "I'll take care of this." he told Caroline. "Do try not to get in any more trouble, will you?"

"No promises there." Caroline knew how much trouble and her seemed to go hand in hand these days. "What are you going to do to him. You can't kill him, you'll tip Marcel off."

"Let me worry about that," Klaus stated, scooping up the body, throwing it over his shoulder. "I'll see you back at the house, Love."

Caroline watched as he sped away.

"It's like we weren't even here." Sophie grumbled. It was like he had Caroline blinders or something. If she was near that was all he cared about.

"It's not surprising." Hayley glanced around the forest. "Now that that's taken care of we should hurry this long before more of Marcel's men show up."

Caroline had to agree. Maybe next time she wouldn't be so lucky in taking the enemy down so quickly but man did it feel good.

* * *

Klaus glanced around at his surroundings outside the bar, making sure no one was around before stuffing Thomas's body into the back of his car, carelessly, shutting the door. That was one problem taken care of.

* * *

Elijah proudly presented Tim's violin to Davina. "You may return this now to its rightful owner. It's restored."

Davina accepted the instrument, staring at it with a sad expression. "I don't even know if I'll see him again."

The room started to shake as if there was an earthquake. Elijah and Davina looked around worriedly, the window shutters burst open as the shaking abruptly stopped.

Elijah looked at the young witch in worry realizing she couldn't control the power that she had. "Davina, this power that you contain, drawn from your fallen friends—it's too much for you. You need control which requires study and practice." This was a way for him to gain her trust and possibly an ally in her. "Now, my mother was a very powerful witch. She left behind her grimoires, a legacy of books filled with spells. These books contain all of the tools that you might need to control your magic. If you free me from here, I can share them with you. However, if you leave now with Marcel, we'll never see each other again, and I cannot find you, and I can't help you."

Davina glared at him. "The witches manipulated me. You know how that ended."

"This is not manipulation. This is one thing in exchange for another. I'm offering you a deal." Elijah responded, hoping she would consider her options.

* * *

Klaus entered the bar again only to find Marcel was gone just as Rebekah was returning from the restroom.

"That was fast work, Rebekah." He praised almost tauntingly.

"Where's Marcel? In there, touching up his lipstick?"

Rebekah shot him a disgusted look. "Credit me with some taste, it's filthy in there. Where'd he go?"

Klaus's eyes narrowed. "He didn't tell you he was leaving?"

"No." she frowned. "Do you think he realized we were stalling him?"

"No." but then it occurred to Klaus. "Unless... he was stalling us."

* * *

Marcel bursts into Davina's room. He wasn't sure how much time he had until Klaus realized he had been stalling him. He was completely unaware of Elijah hiding in his own coffin. "Okay, now's our shot. You ready to blow this joint?"

Davina smiled. "Can't wait."

Marcel grabbed Davina's suitcase. "We'll leave Elijah behind as a parting gift. Might buy me a little forgiveness for pulling one over on his siblings. Let's go."

The two leave the attic with Davina giving her room a final parting glance before she followed Marcel.

Elijah waited till they were out of earshot before pulling himself out of his coffin.

Downstairs, Marcel walked ahead of Davina but she stopped suddenly in the middle of the church's main room, and he turned to look back at her, concerned. "What's wrong? What's happening?"

The church started shaking, "I don't know. Something's wrong." her body tensed up as she started spasming.

Marcel ran up to her, to help her in any way he could.

"Marcel. There's something dangerous out there." she warned. "Take me back!" she demanded before losing consciousness.

Marcel caught her before she could collapse to the ground. "Damn it." He picked her up carrying her back to her room.

Elijah, smiled waiting in the doorway, he hid before Marcel reached the room.

Marcel placed her on to her bed, tucking her in, and looking at her with a tender look for just a moment before taking his leave.

Once he was gone, Davina opened her eyes and lifted her head, dropping the act.

* * *

 _Marcel and Davina entered the attic room for the first time. "No one's gonna look for you here. It's only for a little while, 'til I get you out of town and someplace_ safe. _" he reassured her. "For now I can get you whatever you want. What do you like to do? "_

 _"_ Draw. _" she whispered, nervous._

 _"An artist, huh? That's cool, okay. I can buy out Vincent's for you tomorrow. Maybe get you some curtains, or–"_

 _"Marcel?" She interrupted. "You know what I really want?" she paused for just a beat. "I wanna make them pay." and Marcel nodded in response._

* * *

Davina sat up in the bed when she was sure Marcel was gone. "Elijah?" she called out.

Elijah emerged from where he had hidden himself. "I'm pleased you stayed."

"You'll keep your promise about your mother's spell book?" Davina questioned.

"I will." Elijah said. "You know, difficulties aside, I value my family above everything. I am sorry that yours failed you."

"Your brother Klaus handed you to Marcel in a box, yet you still don't give up on him?" Davina questioned, having trouble understanding how that was possible.

"Well, I've given up on giving up." said Elijah. "It's an affliction. I will fight for my family until my last breath."

"And I'll fight the witches until mine." Davina declared. She wanted them to pay for everything they have done.

* * *

"Now what? You just gonna leave her up there for anybody to find?" Father Kieran questioned as Marcel was leaving the church.

"I'm not in the mood, Kieran." Marcel responded annoyed.

"You were supposed to get her out of New Orleans after the Harvest." Father Kieran reminded him. "We failed those other three girls, we didn't fail her. That is why I came to you for help. That was the plan."

"Plans change." Marcel told him.

"Especially after you found out how powerful she was." said Father Kieran with judgment.

"Let's get something straight." Marcel tired of the Father's judgment. "For eight months since you left, I've been running this town just fine. I don't need you coming back and gettin' in my business. I will do what I want, where I want. Got it?"

"You wanna be the boss? You wanna call the shots?" Father Kieran shot back defensively. "Fine. But I call the shots with the humans. And you don't wanna make an enemy of me. So, I would suggest one thing—stay away from my niece."

"Fine. Who the hell's your niece?" Marcel asked.

"Cami." Father Kieran answered causing Marcel to stop in his tracks, processing what Kieran just revealed to him before huffing in frustration and leaving.

* * *

Night had fallen, Hayley, Caroline, and Sophie were returning to Sophie's truck

"Those people, all this, because of a vision about these babies, you don't think it's true?" Hayley wondered.

Caroline frowned at Hayley. "These Babies? That's how you address your children?"

Hayley shifted, uncomfortably, glancing quickly at Sophie before looking back at Caroline. "I meant my babies."

"Look, I love Sabine, but she's the witch equivalent of a drama queen." Sophie cut in quickly, hoping to distract Caroline. "I've learned to take little stock in whatever she says or sees. Just kinda wish she'd kept her mouth shut."

"The Harvest ritual. You said you didn't believe in it. Were you right?" asked Hayley.

"No. I saw it with my own eyes." Sophie answered. "It was working. It was real."

"So, how can you be so sure Sabine's vision isn't?" Asked Hayley.

Sophie didn't have an answered because the truth was if it was true those babies would have to be killed.

"It doesn't matter if it's true are not," said Caroline strongly. "Your children are going to be a target simply because Klaus is their father. You shouldn't be worrying about something that might not come to pass and focus on keeping them safe."

"And you would be so willing to protect them?" asked Sophie. She wondered how Caroline could speak so fiercely about children that she didn't even know were actually her's.

"Yes." Caroline said without hesitation. Beyond the fact that Klaus fathered the twins Hayley carried they were two innocent babies who didn't ask for any of this for that fact alone she would protect them.

Hayley's hand drifted to her stomach self-consciously, feeling protective of the babies inside of her even as guilt filled her.

* * *

Marcel walked into the courtyard of the Abattoir not surprised to find Klaus waiting for him.

Klaus stood on the top of a cement barrier. "Taking me on a field trip to distract me. Pathetic. And obvious—I taught you better than that."

"You taught me to protect what's mine." Marcel countered. "You will not take Davina from me—end of story."

"An immutable law of nature, Marcel, is the strong always take from the weak."

"Oh, if you were so strong, you wouldn't have run away from New Orleans like a little bitch, all those years ago." Marcel responded with ire.

Klaus jaw clenched at the insult, jumping down from where he was standing, his fist slamming into Marcel. "You've been playing king with a bunch of children for too long. Don't mistake me for one of your nightwalker lackeys, Marcel. I can take Davina anytime I like."

Marcel lunged for Klaus in retaliation but was knocked back down, hitting the ground, he looked up and Elijah stood there.

"Do forgive me, Marcel. If anyone is to teach my brother a lesson... it's me."

Klaus stared at his brother in shock, his jaw clenching. He had spent so much time trying to get Elijah back yet here he stood in front of him and if he was honest with himself he wasn't all too pleased to see him.

* * *

"You did good out there today, Caroline." Rebekah told Caroline grabbing three glasses, they had returned to the Mikaelson mansion. "I didn't expect you to take down Marcel's informant so easily."

Caroline smiled at the compliment as Rebekah poured several drinks as she started speaking to Hayley. "I don't care if we have to get you a leash, that was your last trip to the bayou." Rebekah said to Hayley as she poured three glasses. "What is it with you and those wolves, anyway?"

"I feel like we're connected somehow. I don't know. Maybe it's just some pipe dream that I have of finding any real family out there." She hoped she wasn't deluding herself that she could find any semblance of her real family out there. She didn't want everything she had done to be for nothing. "But sometimes, when I feel like it's me against the world, it keeps me going."

Rebekah gave Hayley a sympathetic look and handed her a drink.

"She can't have that!" Caroline protested as Hayley side-eyed Rebekah.

A look passed over Rebekah as she remembered that because of Hayley being pregnant that she should not be drinking. "Oh, right." Rebekah shrugged and gulp down the glass she poured for Hayley in one go. "Well, if you ask me, family is a pain in the behind." She held a glass out to Caroline as Hayley rolled her eye.

Caroline accepted the drink. "Thanks."

"And as for being in it alone, how dare you? I don't ruin a perfectly fabulous pair of boots traipsing through the bayou for just anyone." Rebekah told Hayley sending her a pointed look.

Hayley smiled and Rebekah downed her second drink. The conversation between the girls was interrupted when Klaus came walking through the front door.

"Klaus." Caroline smiled. "Finally, I-" she trailed off as Elijah walked in behind him with a huge smile and she tensed instinctively, remembering how he had invaded her mind.

"Elijah!" Rebekah broke out into a smile, running to Elijah and hugging him tightly. "You're safe."

Caroline not really wanting to stick around for Elijah's reunion, downed her glass before reaching for the bottle, walking past Elijah and Rebekah, offering Klaus a faint smile as she passed him, heading outside.

Klaus brow furrowed as he watched her head outside. He wasn't the least bit surprised that Rebekah was thrilled Elijah was back but he was surprised by Caroline's reaction. Caroline had not gotten the chance to get to know Elijah yet but still, she seemed less than pleased about his return.

Klaus threw one more look at his siblings, watching as his brother went in obvious search of Hayley. Klaus turned, walking back outside. He didn't see Caroline right away, which had him tensing. He scanned the grounds and caught sight of her walking to the apple tree and taking a seat on the ground with her back against it.

He tilted his head watching her a moment as she took a drink from the bottle of bourbon she had grabbed, he frowned wondering what was wrong.

* * *

Caroline sat back against the tree, her hands peeling at the label of the bottle she held.

She was happy for Klaus and Rebekah. That they had gotten their brother back but that didn't mean she had to like it. It was conflicting to be happy for them but also not liking it. When Elijah was around she felt like she had to have her guard up every second, not wanting him to mess with her head again.

She looked up at approaching footsteps to see Klaus. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Wanted some fresh air." she said in answer.

Klaus didn't think she needed to come all the way out here for fresh air. He took the last few steps forward taking a seat beside her against the tree, his arm brushing against hers. "What's wrong?"

Caroline turned her head to look at him and found his intense blue gaze on her expectantly. She looked away, avoiding, his eyes. "Nothing." she dismissed.

"I don't believe that." Klaus shook his head, he turned his body toward hers, reaching to cup her cheek and direct her eyes back to him. "Tell me what's wrong? What's bothering you?"

Caroline stared back at his searching his gaze and felt compelled to tell him the truth. Not because he was trying to compel her because he wasn't and she knew he wouldn't. But because of the concern in his gaze, left her with the feeling of being pulled toward him in the best way. "Your brother? Elijah. I don't like being around him. I don't trust him not to try and mess with my head like before."

"You mean when the witches had you and he searched through your memories?" Klaus frowned. "It really bothers you, doesn't it? Having someone mess with your head?" He recalled how she reacted when she learned he was compelling Cami, a woman, she didn't even know. Her dislike for the way he controlled his hybirds. How determined she was to not let Silas into her head again.

"No one likes having their head mess with." She avoided looking into his eyes by looking over his shoulder.

Klaus felt anger boiling at the surface, a quiet rage feeling his chest but it wasn't for him or his family or his plans. No, this anger had far more importance. There was only one reason why Caroline could possibly feel so passionately about this. Someone had messed with her head and since vampires couldn't compel other vampires it had to have happened when she was still human. "Who?" his voice was low with anger, taking on a darker tone than he usually used with her.

"What?" Caroline brow furrowed in confusion.

"Who messed with your head when you were still human?" He demanded, his hand gripped her arm. "Who compelled you?!"

Caroline glanced down at his hand, his grip tight before dragging her eyes back to his. Klaus realizing he might be hurting her lessen his grip and brushed his hand down her arm until he could grasp her smaller hands in between his larger one. "Tell me?"

Caroline was sure if she told him the truth he would kill Damon and she couldn't allow that. Not because he didn't deserve it because there was a part of her that would always believe he deserved whatever he got for what he did to her. But because of how much Stefan loved his brother and she wouldn't wish that loss on her best friend regardless of her anti-Damon feelings.

"Caroline.." His thumb brushed against her wrist, making goosebumps rise on her flesh. "Tell me."

Still, she hesitated even though he was looking at her so imploring sounding completely earnest and genuine.

"Please, Caroline." his other hand reached out to cup her cheek. "I need to know." He had to know so he could make the person pay in the worst way imaginable.

Caroline opened and closed her mouth, her hand reaching up to grip the one he had on her cheek, seeing the concern, the need to know who hurt her, Caroline felt herself giving in. "You can't kill him."

"Kill who?" he just needed a name and they would pay for their mistreatment of her.

"You have to promise me you won't kill him." If she was going to tell him she had to know she wasn't signing Damon's death warrant.

Klaus clenched his jaw, reluctant to make a promise he was certain he would break.

"Promise me." Caroline insisted, her hand tightening around his.

Klaus breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling with the movement. "I promise."

Caroline watched him for any sign that he was lying before nodding more to herself than him. "Damon." she admitted slowly. "It was Damon."

Klaus' eyes thinned, jaw clenching, he had to keep his hands from, tensing not wanting to hurt her as he slowly removed his hand from hers, not certain his anger wouldn't get the better of him in a moment of impulsiveness. "What he did he do? What manner did he compel you?"

Caroline frowned as she looked away, her eyes closing as she forced the memories of those few weeks with Damon to the back of her mind as they started to surface.

"Caroline." Klaus's hand squeezed around her own, bringing her eyes back to him slowly.

"When I met Damon I was still human. Honestly, I was an insecure mess. I felt like everything I did back then was in competition with Elena. So when Damon showed up showing an interest in me it felt like a win." She murmured quietly. "But it wasn't. That first night I slept with him on my own but he fed on me and when I woke up I was terrified, I remember what he had done."

Klaus felt rage coursing through him that Damon would dare feed on Caroline, prey on her insecurities. But he forced himself not to react physically, feeling there was more to the story and we wanted to know all of it. He didn't want Caroline shutting down on him now that he convinced her to tell him something so personal. "What happened after?"

"I fought him but he attacked me again and later he compelled to be okay with the fact that he was a vampire. He fed on me, treated me like a human blood bag." She shook her head in disgust. "He had me run stupid errands for him, he was cruel, I was nothing but a puppet that he could feed on anytime he wanted." Her fist clenched, muscles tightening, her stomach turned like acid. "It went on for a few weeks" she muttered in utter disgust.

"Damon controlled you, he took your choices away." The words were said through clenched teeth, his voice lethal.

Caroline nodded slowly. "Yes, he took my choices away. My actions were not always my own."

The thought of anyone taking Caroline's choices away from her, controlling her actions, feeding on her like she was nothing but a walking blood bad angered him. He wanted to tear Damon apart.

Klaus reached up, cupping her face, his other one wrapping around her hand. "You deserved so much better than what Damon Salvatore did to you. No one should have treated you like that." he paused, his hand tightening around her hand as he felt it tremble in his grip. "Does your mom know?"

"No." Caroline gave her head a shake. "I never told her."

"What about Stefan? Elena? Do they know what he was doing to you?"

Caroline admitted in a whisper. "They knew what was going on."

"And they did nothing!" Klaus responded heatedly unable to keep his opinion to himself. "Because of your friends, Elena, you had to pretend like nothing was wrong!"

"These friends of yours that you're so determined to stay loyal to they don't deserve you none of them. You're worth so much more, Caroline," he cupped her face with both his hands. "You deserve people in your life who will always put you first. You deserve someone who would show you even a fraction of the loyalty you have shown your worthless friends."

Caroline bit her lip to keep it from trembling. "And that someone's supposed to be you?" she asked her voice somber.

"I'll be whoever you want me to be." Klaus told her. "But more importantly I will never let anyone treat you the way you've been treated, I will never let anyone hurt you."

His words hit her in the chest, causing the pain she felt to lessen. She knew he meant every word and she felt a gratitude that what she'd been through hadn't just been swept under the rug because it was convenient. She couldn't stop her self as she reached out, gripping fistfuls of his shirt and tugging him forward, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Klaus's hands fell away stunned by her embrace but seconds later he wrapped one around her and stroked a hand through her hair as she buried her face in the crook of her shoulder. "I promise, you'll never have your choices taken from you again."

And when the time came and he saw Damon again he would make him pay, he wouldn't kill him.

He would make him suffer in ways he never imagined. His eyes blackened taking on the look of his hybrid eyes, hugging her more tightly to his body as he continued stroke a hand through her blonde strands.

Caroline's arms tightened around, feeling a wave of comfort as his hand's stroke through her hair, his strong arms around her making her feel like there was not a single thing on this earth that could hurt her in this moment.

It could have been seconds or minutes or longer but footsteps sounded before they were being interrupted. "Niklaus, come inside, I have information to share."

Caroline pulled away at the sound of Elijah's voice and tried to compose herself, putting more distance between her and Klaus.

"Not now, Elijah." Klaus snapped, annoyed with the intrusion.

"This is important Niklaus." Elijah insisted, looking between the two.

Klaus snapped his gaze around to his brother. "I said not now, Elijah!"

"No, it's fine." Caroline stood up, brushing grass from her pants. "It could be important."

Klaus stood, taking her hand in his and catching her eye. " _You're important,_ Caroline."

Caroline shot him a warm smile, appreciating his words. "So is this." She looked at Elijah her warm smile fading. "We're coming."

Elijah observed the two, his eyes zeroing on his brother's grasp on Caroline's hand with a thoughtful look before he nodded, walking back toward the house.

"Thank you." Caroline told Klaus, taking a step closer to him when Elijah was gone and brushed a lingering kiss to his cheek, her free hand, gripping his shoulder.

Klaus nodded in surprise, squeezing her hand, his eyes taking her in, feeling more connected to her than he had before.

Caroline gently removed her hand from his and nodded to the house with a small smile. "We should join the others."

Klaus nodded reluctantly, grabbing up the last bit of the bottle finishing it off and tossing it aside, before placing a hand on her lower back as they the walk back to the house. A comfortable silence between them.

* * *

The Mikaelson siblings, Hayley and Caroline sat around the study in various places, Elijah stood behind the desk in the room, explaining everything that he had managed to learn from Davina. "Everything that brought us here to New Orleans was a lie."

A trickle of fear traveled down Hayley's spine. They couldn't know the truth about her and Sophie, could they? The truth about the babies she carried?

"This story that Sophie Deveraux fabricated, this struggle for control of the French Quarter, this war between vampires and witches, wasn't over territory at all, this was over Davina."

Relief hit her like a wave but she did her best not to outwardly show it. She was just glad that they hadn't found out the truth of her envolvement with Sophie or how she had stolen something, two something's that were never meant to be hers but was a price she was willing to pay if it meant she got her family back. Her pack.

"So all of this for one girl?" Caroline asked, trying to understand. It was a lot to go through all to get to one girl.

"She isn't just any one girl." Elijah responded.

* * *

 _"I swear, I had no idea that the Harvest could possibly be real!" Sophie argued, to her sister in the back room of Rousseau's. Her face was filled with guilt and grief, eyes wet with tears._

 _"But the one thing that you were sure of is that I was wrong and that I would risk Monique's life on a maybe. And now my daughter is dead." Jane-Anne cried, face grief-stricken._

 _"Please tell me how to fix this." Sophie pleaded desperately._

 _"Now that Marcel has Davina, how we are even supposed to find her? If we don't finish the Harvest, Monique and those two other girls are dead for real." Jane-Anne responded, sounding defeated, lost._

 _Sophie stepped toward her sister, grabbing her hands. "Look at me. You and I are gonna find a way to get Monique back." She said firmly, face set in determination. "It'll be our little secret. We'll do it together. I'll seal off the cemetery from the vampires, find Davina, stop Marcel and finish the ritual once and for all. Even if I have to slit Davina's throat myself."_

 _Jane-Anne nodded, holding tightly to her sister's hand as she gave her something to hope for. A chance to get her daughter back. No matter the cost._

* * *

"Eight months ago, Sophie Deveraux and her sister Jane-Anne lost everything. Now, four months after that, a young pregnant girl wanders into their restaurant. Suddenly, all hope is renewed. Jane-Anne actually sacrificed her life so that her sister could use Hayley to find Davina. If Sophie Deveraux is successful in capturing Davina, she can return Jane-Anne's daughter back to life." Said Elijah with weight, looking at each of them. "We thought we'd come here to wage a war for power. This is about family. In order to return her niece to life, Sophie Deveraux will fight to the death. That makes her more dangerous than anyone."

* * *

Sophie kneeled in front of Jane-Anne's grave at Lafayette Cemetery in the pouring rain, crying. She was not going to let her sister's death be in vain. She would get her niece, Sophie back at any cost. And she didn't care who she had to sacrifice to do it.

Hayley slipped out of the room with the excuse that she was tired but the truth was she needed a moment, breathing deeply, she pushed down the fear that they would find out the truth. She knew if Klaus ever did find out she would be as good as dead. No amount of pleading, begging or negotiating would save her.

She prayed to a god she didn't even believe in that if Klaus ever did find out the truth she would be long gone.

* * *

 **A/N: The Klaus and Caroline scene discussing her experience with compelling was not what I wrote at first. I changed it cause I didn't want to offend anyone but I will be posting the original scene I had planned separately if you want to check it out. It may be triggering so if you're easily triggered you shouldn't read it or if you're a big Damon fan.**

 **Thanks for reading and the continued support for this story. It keeps me motivated.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you to everyone who was kind enough to review.:)**

* * *

Rebekah let out a grunt as she landed on her back with a thud followed by a boot being pressed against her throat. "If you were wearing heels I would accuse you of using my own move against me."

Caroline grinned pleased with herself, she removed her foot from it's poised position above her neck and offered a hand to Rebekah to help her up.

Rebekah looked from Caroline's hand to Caroline before reaching her own out and grasping it, her lips formed a slow smirked. She pulled hard, yanking Caroline down and turning swiftly, pinning Caroline to the ground, her hand wrapped around her throat. "Never offer your hand to your enemy."

"I should have no problem remembering that," Caroline grunted, pushing at Rebekah. "Get off."

Rebekah smirked, releasing Caroline and pushing to her feet, dusting herself off. "You're improving."

"Really?" Caroline got back to her feet, dusting herself off.

"You're not ready to take on an original but I'm certain you could now handle the average vampire, even some of the older ones."

"Damn, there goes my dream of taking you down one day." Caroline joked. "I'll just have to keep training till it's a possibility."

"Poor, poor, Caroline, that is never going to happen." Rebekah shook her head in mock pity.

Caroline laughed. "Thanks for the training, Rebekah. I'm gonna go get cleaned up, wash this dirt off." Plus it was around the time her mother usually called to check in on her.

"You know, I think getting out of Mystic Falls was the best thing to happen to you," Rebekah informed her.

"How so?" Caroline wondered.

"Well, I find you infinitely more tolerable." Rebekah smiled. "I might even like you now but just a bit."

"Just a bit?" Caroline asked with a small grin.

"Just a little bit," Rebekah smirked, parting her index and thumb, just an inch apart.

Caroline shook her head with a laugh. "Well, it's improvement to when we were always at each other's throats."

"That it is indeed." Rebekah agreed.

Caroline smiled and headed into the house.

* * *

Klaus and Elijah sat opposite each other in the living room, both were reading. Klaus was reading "A Poison Tree" by William Blake and Elijah was reading one of his mother's grimoires.

The body of a dead girl laid across the coffee table, classical music playing in the background.

After changing out the clothes she wore when she was training Caroline, now wearing a black dress, Rebekah entered the room. "So, this is what you do the first time we're back together as a family? I train Caroline to fight while the two of you have vampire book club?"

Klaus didn't even bother to look up from his book. "Reading edifies the mind, sister. Isn't that right, Elijah?"

"Yes, that's quite right, Niklaus," Elijah responded.

"And what's this business?" Rebekah waved a hand to the dead girl on the table, her blood dripping onto the table and carpet beneath.

"This is a…" Elijah paused before finally admitting. "I don't know what this is. A peace offering perhaps?"

"It's not a peace offering. Peace is overrated." Klaus stated. "I presumed, after so much time desiccating in a coffin, that my big brother might be a bit peckish."

"And I explained to my little brother, that forgiveness cannot be bought. I'd simply prefer to see a change in behavior that indicates contrition and personal growth." Said Elijah stated.

Klaus rolls his eyes, he didn't need Elijah's forgiveness.

"Not this nonsense." Elijah continued.

"Well, I couldn't very well let her go to waste, could I?" Klaus grinned to himself.

"Well, I suppose I'll go fetch the rubbish bin because she's staining a two-hundred-year-old carpet," said Rebekah. "And I have no doubt if Caroline saw this she would be giving us a lecture on morality and the importance of human life then again she does seem to be loosening up a bit."

"Speaking of, where is the lovely Caroline?" Klaus asked finally looking up from his book.

"She went to get cleaned up, she's getting better at the takedowns," Rebekah informed him.

"Did you just compliment Caroline, if I didn't know better I would say you were warming up to her." Klaus grinned.

"I'm finding her slightly more tolerable," she replied.

Elijah looked up from his book to see the girl bleeding out onto the table, where the blood dripped onto the floor. "Ah, yes, you have a point about the carpet, Rebekah."

As Klaus read over a line in the book he looked up at Elijah, his eyes narrowing.

* * *

Marcel walked into the Palace Royale Hotel where he believed Klaus was staying.

* * *

Father Kieran pulls wooden boards off the windows of the church and waved to a group of men standing outside the door. The men who ran the city.

* * *

Klaus looked at Elijah, and then to Hayley, who walked through the room, her hand on her pregnant belly.

Klaus watched Elijah set down the grimoire and follow Hayley into the kitchen, resisting the to urge to roll her eyes at the way Elijah followed her like a lost little puppy.

* * *

Elijah followed Hayley into the kitchen and found her making herself breakfast, rooting through the fridge.

He leaned in the doorway. "Good morning." he smiled.

Hayley smiled back at him. "Hey."

Rebekah entered through the back door, dragging a trash can behind her, interrupting their moment. "Listen, I know I'm the only one in this house that actually drinks milk, but would it kill any of you to make sure it's on the grocery list?"

"Actually I did." Caroline breezed into the room to retrieve a bag of blood and a glass.

"You did?" Hayley raised an eyebrow.

"Em-Hmm." she hummed pouring the blood into a glass. "It's right there on the counter."

Hayley looked and saw a small notepad and written on was a small list of things they needed including Milk. "Oh," said Hayley in surprise.

"Add bleach." Rebekah stomped through the kitchen and into the living room to clean up the mess.

Caroline raised an eyebrow at her retreating figure. She hadn't taken Rebekah one to do her own cleaning when she could just pay or compel someone to do it for her.

She glanced at Elijah and Hayley who were sharing lingering looks and decided she didn't want to be alone with them for much longer and followed Rebekah into the living room where she saw that Rebekah seemed to be cleaning up blood from the carpet and table and Klaus was reading a book on the couch.

"Do I even want to know where that came from?" she asked and Klaus looked up at the sound of her voice, his lips ticking up into a smile.

"No, you don't." Said Rebekah, getting to work on the blood.

"I'll take your word for it." Caroline took a seat right next to Klaus her leg brushing against his. "What are you reading?" she wondered, taking a sip of her glass of blood.

Klaus held the book out to her and she leaned forward placing her glass on the table before accepting the book. "The Fruit of the Poison Tree" she read out loud.

"Rebekah tells me training is going well," said Klaus watching her closely, the way her hair fell around her shoulders as she tilted her head to read.

"I like to think so, I would hate it if Rebekah was kicking my ass and I was getting nowhere," she responded.

A laugh escaped Rebekah and she grinned at Caroline. "It's fun at least."

"I'm sure it is," Caroline said, returning Rebekah's grin and handing Klaus the book back. "Apparently, I'm more tolerable now," she told him.

"So, I've heard," he said, reaching out and brushing her hair back from her face. "But I found you fascinating, to begin with."

Caroline smiled, not pulling back from him, reaching for her glass on the table and settling back on the couch next to him. "Well, you do have good taste."

Rebekah quirked an eyebrow. Was Caroline flirting back with her brother? It certainly sounded like that to her. She wondered if Caroline realized what she was doing.

Klaus grinned at Caroline's response and stretched his arm out on the back of the couch, his finger's playing with the strands of her hair brushing up against his hand.

* * *

Elijah started digging around a cupboard as Hayley pulled ice cream out of the freezer. "You know, I do hope my siblings and Caroline were hospitable to you, in my absence."

"And your absence, as you like to call it, which is a way-too-polite way of saying that your brother put a dagger in your heart…" Hayley looked up to see Elijah bringing a bowl, a spoon, and a bag of cereal to the counter. "I have been attacked by French Quarter vampires, I've had to live in a house with a secret dungeon full of coffins, and I was nearly murdered by witches who are convinced my babies are Lucifer's offspring." The lie of referring to the babies as her's were starting to come more naturally to her.

Elijah smiled sympathetically as he pulled orange juice and milk out of the fridge, pouring Hayley a bowl of cereal, and then filling it with milk.

Hayley noticed the milk. "Oh...milk." she paused. "They've been fine. Caroline and I were off to a rough start but we seem to be passed that now. Your siblings are weirdly protective, I know I have you to thank for that."

"I'm just happy to see that you're in one piece." Elijah smiled. "So, back to the murderous witches." he handed her the bowl of cereal. "I have some concerns."

"They're evil," said Hayley. "And, my life is still magically linked to Sophie Deveraux, which is not comforting." But it wasn't just that, her deal with Sophie, if it were to get out, she shuddered to think of the consequences. If it came down to her Sophie she wouldn't hesitate to throw the witch under the bus.

"Yes, I think it's time we took care of that little problem," said Elijah.

"What?" Asked Hayley stunned. How were they going to do that? She hoped to god it wouldn't affect the spell that Sophie had used to place Klaus and Caroline's children into her womb.

"I am all for it." Rebekah walked into the kitchen. "As soon as they're unlinked, we get to leave this crap town." she paused. Well, after she finished Caroline's training, but then again Klaus could take over training her, she dragged the dead girl's body across the kitchen floor who by some miracle Caroline hadn't seen thanks to her removing her from the living room before Caroline had joined them. "Who do we have to kill?"

Elijah looked to be thinking. "Probably no one."

Hayley looked at him doubtfully.

"Alright, potentially everyone," Elijah admitted before turning to leave.

* * *

Sophie was at Rousseau's in the back room, chopping up vegetables and talking to Sabine, who was sitting on one of the tables.

Sophie waved a hand at the table she was sitting on, making a face. "I cook on that, you know!"

"Don't get cranky with me! I'm the only witch who still likes you." Sabine retorted with a half smirk.

Sophie stirred the gumbo she had going. "Yeah, it's not like I'm trying to save the witch heritage or anything," she replied, turning back to Sabine.

"They'll come around," said Sabine. "They're just old-school and scared."

"Scared of what? Your prophecy about the hybrid babies?" Sophie shot an accusing glare at Sabine, blaming her for what had happened. "Agnes and her freak-show minions had a real field day with that one."

"I can't help what I see, Soph." Sabine shook her head. "Besides there's something up with that pregnancy. I swear it's connected to Klaus's girl."

Sophie was careful to keep her expression neutral. No one, not even Sabine could be trusted with the truth of Hayley's pregnancy. She forced a smile. "Well, if you're psychic, I'm Martha Stewart! And what you're sensing is the linking spell I did on Caroline and the babies." she walked toward the table to grab some celery. "Scootch!"

Sabine wasn't all that convinced that Sophie was right about that but said nothing to contradict her.

Sophie returned to her table and Sabine hopped down to join her. She saw a shadow in her peripheral vision and got suspicious. Suddenly, two people in black masked come out of nowhere.

"What the...?" she started to say but was cut off as one of the masked figures backhanded her across the face, she went sprawling to the floor unconscious. Sophie tried to fight the other two masked people off, but they blew some powder in her face and she fell unconscious to the floor.

* * *

Caroline watched as Klaus got up from his seat beside her, setting his book aside, she picked it up and flipped through it again as she sipped at her blood.

Klaus returned a moment later and when she looked up, she saw he had his sketchpad in hand, she raised a single brow at him in question. "I feel like sketching the beauty of the morning."

Caroline's brow furrowed as she glanced around the room, wondering how he was supposed to do that from inside. But when he settled with his sketchpad on his knee and kept glancing at her as he moved a pencil over the page she realized he meant her. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at herself. She settled back on the couch, skimming through the book with one hand, and holding her glass of blood in the other.

Rebekah scrubbed at the bloodstains in the carpet as Klaus took the opportunity to sketch Caroline who was sifting through his book. After getting rid of the body she had returned to the living room to try and get rid of the bloodstains. Rebekah glanced at the book that Caroline was going through that Klaus had been reading. "Poetry about poisoned apples from dead trees. Looks like someone's worried about impending daddyhood."

Klaus glanced up from his sketchpad and shook his head. "Nonsense. Elijah's back. In his presence, all problems turn to pixie-dust and float away!"

Caroline snorted at that, she really doubted that.

Rebekah side-eyed them both but grinned, Klaus grinned back at her while Caroline lifted her glass of blood, taking a drink.

"Strange, I don't recall any pixie-dust from the darkness of the coffin I was recently forced to endure," said Elijah as he rejoined them in the living room. He opened Esther's grimoire and started flipping through it.

"What are you doing with Mother's spellbook?" asked Rebekah.

"Well, in exchange for my freedom, I promised the witch Davina that I would share a few pages from Mother's grimoire. To help her learn to control her magic."

Klaus and Rebekah shared a look of confusion.

Caroline's brow furrowed as she stared at her least favorite Original. Why did Elijah offer such a thing to the witch and why did he want to help her learn control?

"I thought we'd begin with a little unlinking spell," said Elijah.

Rebekah looked at him stunned. "Wait, you want to use her to unlink Hayley from Sophie Deveraux?"

"And Caroline from the babies," Elijah said glancing at Caroline.

Klaus looked at Caroline, watching her face light up with hope at the prospect of no longer being linked to the lives of his children. He wanted that too, he wanted her safe but he also dreaded it. If they managed to undo the linking spells, it would be one step closer to her being able to leave and return to Mystic Falls. Something he dreaded, having her around all the time was amazing and he loved it, even when she was arguing with him because at least she was there. And things had been progressing between them. He felt like she was finally allowing herself to accept whatever she may feel for him without fear of judgment of what her friends back in Mystic Falls might think.

"Sophie brought us here under false pretenses! She doesn't just want us to take down Marcel and his minions, she wants to take Davina back. So, she yolked her own cause to ours, with magic threats and half-truths! Well, no more. As of now, our deal with Sophie Deveraux is null and void." Elijah declared like his word was law.

Klaus and Rebekah grinned, Caroline raised a brow, wondering if everyone in the Mikaelson family was so dramatic.

"Niklaus, I need you to come with me. I need five minutes alone with Davina, you need to make certain that I am not interrupted." Elijah pointed to Rebekah, pausing to think for a moment. "You stay here and watch Hayley." he looked to Caroline. "And you Ms. Forbes can finish cleaning this mess up for Rebekah."

Klaus glared at him. "Don't tell her wha-"

Caroline bristled. "Excuse me?" she cut Klaus off, glaring at Elijah. Wondering at his audacity to order her about like she was a cleaning lady or something. "What makes you think you can order me around?"

Elijah brow raised in surprise, as she glared and talked back to him. "This is my family home and you are a guest in this house and it would be helpful if you contributed more."

Klaus placed his sketch beside him, his jaw clenched as he rose. "Caroline is not a guest here." He moved toward his brother. "She's more than that and you will treat her with the respect that you would anyone else, brother."

"I wasn't disrespecting her, I-"

"Yes, you were." Klaus snapped angrily and Rebekah looked between her brothers, watching Klaus warily, wondering if he was about to lunge at Elijah in what he deemed in the defense of Caroline.

Caroline rose, putting a hand out to Klaus to stop him. "I don't need you to fight battles for me, Klaus." She turned back to Elijah. "I'm regretting ever helping Rebekah try to get you back. You come back here expecting everyone to follow your orders. And why? Because you're angry at Klaus for daggering you? Because you see yourself as the family Patriarch? Well, I could care less and if you think for a second I'm going to let you order me around like some nobody you have another thing coming." She walked forward till she was standing directly across from him. "You want this mess cleaned up than do it your damn self."

Elijah raised an eyebrow as she turned to push past him but she quickly turned back walking to the table grabbing her glass of blood, raising it at him in a mocking salute and walked right past him with a glare thrown in his direction.

Klaus chuckled. "I think we found someone who actually dislikes the noble Elijah."

Rebekah frowned. "If she dislikes Elijah so much why did she help me? Besides needing training that she could have easily gotten from you. Why did she try to help find him?"

Klaus didn't know why but if he had to guess he would say it was because she wanted to help Rebekah due to their deal and needing to get out of the house.

Elijah face clouded over with confusion. "I wasn't aware she tried to help get me back."

"It was more a quid-pro-quo. She helped me with my plan to get you back and I give her some fight training." Rebekah shrugged. "I don't think it was about you."

Elijah made a non-committal noise, turning on his heel and striding from the room.

Rebekah turned to Klaus. "And how did I get elected super-nanny?"

"More importantly, who put him in charge?" Klaus followed Elijah out of the room. He didn't like the way Elijah seemed to think he owed him and was free to call the shots. And he needed to have a word with him about Caroline. He wouldn't have anyone addressing Caroline the way Elijah did moments ago. He would not allow for her to be disrespected.

* * *

Marcel sat alone at the local nightwalker bar, drinking a bottle of scotch, various vampires around him were feeding on humans at the tables around the room.

Josh saw Marcel and approached him. "Hey. Is everything okay?"

Marcel shot him a dry look.

"Uh, can I get you something?" Josh asked instead.

"Look, I know you want a daylight ring, kid. Little heads up? I got guys eighty years ahead of you." Marcel told him, he didn't need the kid pestering him.

Josh nodded nervously. "Noted. Sorry." he turned on heel and started to walk away.

Marcel watched him start to leave. "Wait!" he called him back. "You know Klaus Mikaelson. I asked you to give him a lift home a couple of times? To the Palace Royale Hotel, right?"

"Uhhh, yeah...the Palace Royale." Josh stammered, God, he was terrible at duplicity, he hoped he didn't look like a deer caught in headlights.

"See, I stopped by his hotel, to say sorry about an argument we had. Turns out he lied about living there. Lied! Do you ever hear the phrase, "Uneasy is the head that wears the crown?" asked Marcel.

"Uhhh...Lord of the Rings?" Josh guessed unsure, he didn't really take Marcel for a Lord of the Rings kind of guy.

"No, Shakespeare." Marcel corrected. "When I was a kid, Klaus taught me how to read with those plays. All about a king who gained the world, but lost his soul. But now, I get it! You see, when it's all said and done, and you look around at the empire you built, the only thing that matters is who you can trust!"

"There's gotta be somebody, somewhere that you can trust?" said Josh. "'To stick to you, through thick and thin, to the bitter end.' Sam and Frodo, The Fellowship of the Ring." he gave a shrug, not knowing if Marcel got the reference or not.

Marcel nodded slowly. "Yeah, there is someone. We used to be best friends." he patted Josh on the arm as he got up and left.

* * *

Davina was sketching with charcoal on her easel in her attic room when Elijah arrived, leaning against the doorway, knocking on the door. Davina smiled at him as he held up, pages from his mother's grimoire wrapped in cloth. "I made you a promise."

Davina's smiled broadened. "Come in!"

* * *

Davina spread a page of Esther's grimoire on her table. "It's a spell of unknotting?"

"This is a sanguinum knot. The witches use it as representational magic. If you can unknot this using that spell, you will have taken a step towards learning control." Elijah explained, he offered her two roped knots. "This is one of my mother's later spells. It requires much more power than you realize. Now, if you can perform this, then I shall return with another page." he walked toward the door, then turned back to her. "A spell of your choosing, next time." he graced her with a smile before leaving.

* * *

Sophie had regained consciousness and she struggled against the grips of the masked people who knocked her out, even as they shackled her to chains hanging from the ceiling. "Let go of me!" she demanded. She recognized where she was by the stone walls. She was in a mausoleum in the Lafayette cemetery.

Agnes entered the room with a bag and set it on a table. "Leave her be."

"Killing me to get to Klaus, or his babies is not the answer!" Sophie exclaimed, glaring.

Agnes started rooting through the bag. "I'm not gonna kill you, Sophie, I was there the day you were born. I am the last remaining Elder of our coven. It is my duty to protect our power, and our power means nothing if those babies grow another day." she turned to face Sophie. "Sabine's omen was clear. One of those babies will bring death to us all."

Sophie looked at her, fear coursing through her. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to fix the mistake you and your sister made." Agnes held up a large, old-looking metal syringe with a long needle.

"No, no, Agnes, no," Sophie said terrified, it would ruin everything. "No, no, don't!" And Klaus. God, Klaus would kill every witch in New Orleans if Caroline was to die because Sophie ended the pregnancy.

Agnes held Sophie's head down, stopping her struggles and stabbing the needle into her neck.

* * *

In her bedroom, Hayley yelled out in pain as she grasped her neck. When she pulled her hand away, she noticed blood on her fingers. "AHH!"

Rebekah heard her shout and walked into the room. "What the hell was that?"

"Hell if I know, it felt like I was being stabbed," Hayley muttered, she shared a worried look Rebekah as they both realized that something bad was happening. Just not to her but to Sophie.

"Hey, is everything alright in here?" Caroline asked walking into the room having heard Hayley's cry of pain. When both Hayley and Rebekah looked at her with troubled looks. She felt an inkling of dread. "What is it? What's wrong?"

* * *

Elijah and Klaus found Sabine on the floor of Rousseau's kitchen and Elijah helped her up back to her feet. "What happened?" Elijah asked gruffly.

"It was Agnes." Sabine rubbed her head as she looked around. "Her men took Sophie."

"Day one with you in charge, brother, and already the witch linked to Hayley has been abducted by zealots." Klaus growled. "If anything happens to Caroline there's not a single thing you can say or do that will keep me from slaughtering that old witch and her cohorts."

Elijah ignored his brother and focused on Sabine. "Where is she?"

"If I tell you where Agnes is, you'll just kill her," she said looking at Klaus.

"If Caroline is in danger because of her, yes, I'm going to kill the old hag." Klaus sneered.

"Look, I know she's a little...coo-coo, but she's our last living Elder. That might not mean a lot to you, but it means plenty to us." Sabine was trying to reason with him. "The Elders are the only ones who can do important spells."

"Like completing the Harvest ritual?" Elijah inquired.

Sabine looked at him confused. "You know about that?"

"Oh, you'd be astounded by the things I know," Elijah responded.

"Allow me to entertain you with today's list of priorities. One, unlink Caroline from my children, I won't have her in constant danger. Two, unlink your friend Sophie,so she no longer controls the fate of the woman carrying my children. Three... there is no three." Klaus spoke to her.

"I believe what my brother is attempting to communicate, here, is that neither the life of this Elder, nor the Harvest ritual, nor your coven's connection to magicare of any relevance to him, whatsoever. " Elijah paused for a beat before continuing. "Now talk."

* * *

Marcel walked through the gate to the Garden, approaching Thierry's "cell" amid the groans of pain of the other vampire inmates. "Thierry."

"Marcel." Thierry's voice was weak and groggy as he stared at Marcel, struggling to focus his gaze. "Come to punish me again?"

"Someone asked if there was anyone I ever trusted. I only came up with one name. You. So, Thierry, you and I are gonna have a little talk about Klaus Mikaelson." Marcel grabbed a sledgehammer and started to break down the wall of bricks surrounding Thierry.

* * *

"Time for the demon spawns to snack!" Rebekah entered a sitting room where Hayley was relaxing back in an armchair.

"I really wish you wouldn't call them that." Hayley told her.

"Oh, sorry, have you picked another name yet?" Rebekah quipped holding out a basket of fruit. "Take one, the plantation's lousy with them."

"I'm gonna have to agree with Hayley with this one." Caroline followed Rebekah into the room with a glass of orange juice as Hayley choose an apple from the basket, grasping it in her hand. "You should stay hydrated." She told Hayley holding the glass of orange juice out to her.

Hayley accepted the glass. "I feel fine...which is weird. I'm sure it's Sophie-related."

"Then, do me a favor, and don't die on my watch!" said Rebekah. "I can forget about never hearing the end of it because I'll be in a coffin for the rest of my life." She had no doubts about the lengths Klaus was willing to go if Caroline were to die on her watch because Hayley and the babies died.

"You know, when I first met you, I thought you were a real bitch," Hayley told Rebekah.

"What changed your mind?" Rebekah asked with a smile.

"Oh, I still think you're a bitch!" Hayley smiled. "I've just grown to like that about you."

"Aw, well, that's sweet of you to say." She chuckled.

"If you thought she was a bitch now you should have seen her in Mystic Falls," Caroline said, shooting a teasing smile Rebekah's way.

"You're one to talk." Rebekah shot back but there was no heat behind her words.

Caroline shrugged, she knew she could be a bitch when she wanted to be.

Rebekah's face turned serious as she turned back to Hayley and said. "Remember it when I'm gone."

"Gone?" Hayley repeated confused. "Where are you going?"

"I only came to town to make sure everything was okay with Elijah. He's fine, and he hasn't punished Klaus for daggering him, so...as usual, they'll be thick as thieves, and I'll be left to clean up the mess." she paused a beat. "It's time for me to fly the coop."

Caroline resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of Elijah. She frowned if Rebekah left she was gonna have to get Klaus to train her instread.

"Oh…" Hayley was about to bite into the apple but faltered suddenly feeling woozy.

Rebekah frowned concernedly. "What's wrong?"

Hayley shook her head. "I dunno, probably morning sickness…"

Rebekah placed her hand on Hayley's forehead. "Oh, you're burning up, actually."

"How ba-" Caroline step forward and stumbled, barely catching herself falling as she suddenly felt faint and shaky.

Rebekah looked between her and Hayley, then to Hayley's stomach. "That can't be good."

* * *

Klaus and Elijah found Sophie in a mausoleum in the Lafayette cemetery and Elijah set about freeing her from her chains.

Sophie groaned as the shackles broke. "Agnes stuck me with a needle. Cursed objects were created a long time ago. We use them so we don't get busted by Marcel for doing magic. The one she used is called the Needle of Sorrows. It was cursed in 1860 when…"

"Jump ahead a few decades and tell us what it does, love?" Klaus responded impatiently, not wanting a witch history lesson.

"It has only one purpose: to kill a child in utero by raising her blood temperature," Sophie said gravely.

Klaus froze if that happened, Caroline would... She would die. Here beauty erased from the world.

"It's for a miscarriage," Elijah said stunned, anger leaking beneath the surface.

Sophie nodded.

"How long?" Klaus growled as his eyes seemed to flicker.

Sophie took a step back, feeling a spark of fear.

"So, how much time do we ha-" Elijah started but was cut off by Sophie's startled scream, her body slamming into the wall Klaus's hand tight around her throat. "Niklaus!"

" _How long?!_ " Klaus demanded, voice low and menacing.

Sophie tried to speak but his grip was too tight, she couldn't breathe, black dots appeared in her vision.

"Niklaus!" Elijah ripped Klaus away from Sophie.

Klaus whirled on him, shoving him off. "Get off me!"

"You need to calm down." Elijah insisted firmly, moving to stand in front of Sophie. "She is still linked to Hayley. You cannot under any circumstances kill her."

Klaus looked at his brother in annoyance, cursing that fucking linking spell. His blackened ambers eyes glared murderously, veins rising on his cheeks. "HOW LONG!?" The words were ripped from his chest.

Sophie's hand was around her throat, rubbing the now tender skin, she was sure to stay behind Elijah. "It will do what it's meant to by tonight's high tide…" She got out after a moment. "And believe me, it will work. I saw her use a similar object on a kid who went mad and killed a bunch of priests."

"Agnes." Klaus took a step forward, pushing Elijah out of the way and towering over her. "Where can I find her?!"

"You won't! There are a thousand places she could hole up to wait it out."

"That's precisely why we need to unlink you from Hayley. And Caroline from the children. No more danger toward her, Caroline or the children." said Elijah.

"No, what?" Sophie shook her head in denial. "If I am not linked to Hayley, I lose my leverage on you. If Caroline's isn't linked to those children there is nothing to keep him from killing me." She shot a look at Klaus being face to faced with his hybrid side was more frightening than she ever thought it would be. It really put a new perspective on things. "We had a deal!"

"We are not on the same side, Sophie Deveraux." Elijah was more than ready to put an to the witches demands over them. "Our deal no longer stands!"

Sophie looked at him in outraged but more than that her eyes went to Klaus who flashed her an evil look, baring his fangs at her. She knew he'd be more than happy to tear into her throat.

* * *

Marcel handed Thierry a canteen of blood, who was sitting on a step in the Garden, Marcel sat down beside him.

"Does this mean you're pardoning me?" asked Thierry.

"Aw, you know I can't do that." Marcel shook his head. "You broke my number one rule, you killed a vampire, T. I let that go, it'll make me look weak."

Thierry chugged the blood down. "I warned you about Klaus."

"Yeah, I should've listened," Marcel said, admitting he had been wrong not to. "This guy's been in my town for months, but hiding where he lays his head at night. What else is he hiding, is what I want to know! I didn't listen to you before, but I sure as hell am now. Tell me what happened the night that got you put in here, and you might find yourself out by Mardi Gras."

"The night of the Masquerade Party, you sent us rousting in the Cauldron to mess with the witches. So, when Max came in rousting, he went straight for Katie's throat. Now, you said to roust, you didn't say to kill. Now, he's a nightwalker. I'm a daywalker. I told him to stop, and he wouldn't. So I stopped him. That night's on an endless loop in my head." he paused. "I think Max was compelled."

"No." Marcel denied, his guys being compelled wasn't possible. "All my guys are on vervain."

"Not if Klaus drained him!" Theirry argued. "Max went missing for a couple days before the rousting, right?"

"T, they found stuff you and your girl stole from me in her shop," Marcel stated, there was no point for Thierry to lie to him.

"Have you ever been in the Jardin Gris?" Thierry questioned. "You can't find your own hand in front of your face in there! And yet somehow, someone went in there, and after a couple minutes, found some stolen goods?"

Marcel wiped at his face anxiously, he couldn't help but consider Thierry's words.

"Go there! See for yourself!" Thierry challenged. "But I'm telling you, besides Max, somebody else in the crew had to be compelled. Watch your back." He took another swig from the canteen of blood.

* * *

Father Kieran has put up a "Substance Abuse Anonymous" sign at St. Ann's Catholic Church in order to meet with some city officials in private without being disturbed.

"So, a few tourists go missing. Okay, we can spin it, no problem. But do you know how hard it is to sell a gas leak story to the city council when a bunch of church windows magically explode?" The Mayor questioned.

"Mr. Mayor, what is this, an electoral debate?" replied Kieran. "Marcel overstepped, I will handle it."

Klaus through the front doors of the church open, striding in. "Easier said than done. Marcel is quite the little warrior."

A Police officer tried to stop him but Klaus turned his head around and swiftly broke his neck. He was in no mood to deal with people today.

"Who the hell are you?" The Mayor demanded after watching his officer fall to the ground, dead.

"My name is Klaus. And you lot are the Faction. Pillars of the community who maintain the city's supernatural balance. Well, I should know. I created this group. Only, in my day, it was a bunch of pirates and corrupt politicians." Klaus looked around at all the men. "Looks like nothing's changed."

"One thing has: it's exclusively human now," Kieran spoke up looking at Klaus like he was something beneath his shoe. "No vampires allowed, especially no Originals."

Klaus gave a harsh laugh. "I haven't come to join! I've come to ask this group to utilize its considerable resources to find a witch Elder called Agnes. All I need is an address."

"And, uh, why would we want to help you?" Kieran questioned.

"What if I told you that Agnes was the answer to a question you've been asking since you ran screaming from this town? That she is the witch who hexed your nephew, Sean?" Klaus asked enticingly.

"We'd need some time to discuss-"

Klaus cut him off. "I DON'T. HAVE. TIME." he shouted.

Kieran chuckled in response.

"Nor do I like being asked to wait. And I am in no mood for a show of patience." Klaus stated warningly.

"You may have all the vampires in this town cowering in fear, but right now, you are dealing with the humans," said Father Kieran. And unless you plan on killing all of us, I politely suggest you do as I say, and give us time to discuss it." he gestured widely to the other men in the room.

Klaus leaned forward toward the father. "You know what I like about you, Father? Is you're aware of our reputation, and yet still, you stand tall against me." he paused. "Admirable!" The smile slid from his face. "Unfortunately for you, I can't afford to waste any time more than necessary, get me what I want or I will start killing every human official in the city." he glanced pointedly back at the dead cop. "You have one hour." He turned to leave, stepping over the dead officer.

Kieran waited till Klaus was gone before speaking. "I want that witch. Cell phone records, our guys in the 9th."

"For the vampire?" asked the Mayor.

Kieran didn't care for Klaus's threats. This was personal now. He sighed. "No. For me."

* * *

Davina continued to work on the unlinking spell Elijah had given her. She held her hands out over the two knots and read from the page. "Phesmatosomniolegarescoldatesangorium." Davinastared at the knots, waiting for something to happen but nothing did, the knots didn't unravel like she expected them to. She exhaled in frustration, running her hand through her hair before angrily hitting her easel.

* * *

Hayley laid in bed as Rebekah blotted sweat from her forehead and chest, Caroline hovered on the other side of the bed, wringing her hands worriedly.

Rebekah turned her head to glare at Caroline. "Would you stop your incessant pacing?!"

"I'm worried." Caroline defended.

"Well, you're pacing isn't helping." When Rebekah turned back to Hayley she scowled at her. "Stop fussing, will you? Elijah will be here any minute."

"I feel like I've been microwaved," Hayley whined, fidgeting in the bed.

"Hey! Just because you're carrying two babies, doesn't mean you get to act like one!" Rebekah told her. "I'm sure my little niece and nephew are healing you up as we speak."

Elijah rushed into the room not a moment later with Sophie. Rebekah quickly stood to greet them, glaring at Sophie. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"My thoughts exactly." Caroline agreed.

Sophie sighed. "I'm trying to help."

"Help? You're the reason we're in this bloody mess!" Rebekah threw back at her. "Why aren't we unlinked with this witch already, Elijah?"

"Rebekah, let her do what she can," Elijah told his sister.

"How can you even trust her?" asked Caroline.

"I don't." said Elijah "but Hayley and the lives of those children are more important than any mistrust we may have for her."

"I may know a way to slow the fever down. But, I'm gonna need some special herbs." Sophie looked at Rebekah. "I'll text you a list."

Rebekah glared but when Elijah nodded at her in encouragement, she relented. "Fine." She smiled patronizingly. "Happy to play the fetch girl." She shoved the towel she was using into his chest and stomped out of the room.

"Perhaps you should go with her, Caroline?" Elijah suggested.

Caroline crossed her arms. "I'm not going anywhere." She glared at Sophie. If there was anyone she distrusted the most it was the witch and she wasn't about to leave the lives of Klaus's children in her care.

Elijah leveled Caroline with a look. "I think it would be best if you help Rebekah, Caroline." he stared her down.

Caroline raised her chin, matching his stare not budging. "I didn't ask what you thought was best."

Elijah was surprised that she didn't back down and seeing she wasn't going to budge he focused back on the more important matter at hand, Hayley and Sophie.

* * *

Rebekah frantically rifled through bottles and jars on the shelves of the Jardin Grin Voodoo shop, looking for the herbs she needed to help Hayley.

"Isn't this Katie's shop?" asked Marcel walking into the shop.

Rebekah stopped, she rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance as she went back to looking for the herbs.

"She leave you the keys in her will, or maybe it's just Help-Yourself Tuesday?" Marcel questioned, watching her. "What are you doing here?"

"You know, I read if you mix mugwort with sage, you've got quite a vampire-repellant? Wards off even the most resilient pest." She snarked at him annoyed. "Why are you here?"

"Just keeping my city safe from thieves and vandals," Marcel responded. "But, every time I turn around, I catch an Original with their hand in the cookie jar!"

"Well, luckily for you, your "cookies" are the last thing on my mind," Rebekah, brushed him off.

"Oh, I can see that!" Marcel walked toward her. "Though, I can think of a time when things were different."

"Maybe once. Not anymore." Said Rebekah, finding the herbs she was looking for. "Camphor, found it!" she quickly left the shop, leaving Marcel, looking around the shop after her abrupt exit.

* * *

Father Kieran looked down at his phone, receiving a text message from Chief Sullivan that read _'3631 CHARBONNET ST. LOWER 9TH WARD.'_ He slipped his phone into his pocket, going to leave but was stopped.

"Going somewhere?" Klaus blocked his path.

Father Kieran tried to keep a straight face, though he was nervous by Klaus's sudden appearance. "You're early."

"Well, it's a good thing I am. You seem hell-bent on enacting vengeance all onyour lonesome. The trouble is, I need something from Agnes and if anyone is going to kill her it's going to be me so forget any ideas about sending her off to meet her maker. So, I propose we strike a deal!" He took a seat down in one of the pews. "Bring her here! In exchange, I'll even ensure your niece, Cami, remains safe. Oh, I'd so hate for her to get caught up in all of this."

* * *

Sometime later, Agnes was brought to the church, handcuffed by police officers. "This is outrageous! What is the charge?" Agnes demanded.

The officers sat her in a pew before leaving.

"Please, Agnes." said Kieran. "You know that Marcel runs the vampires in this town."

An officer handed him a folded cloth which was revealed to hold the Needle of Sorrows.

"Who do you think runs everything else?" Kieran held the needle up and called out to Klaus. "I believe this is what you were looking for?"

Klaus sped to Kieran side. "Hello, Agnes."

"You made a deal with _HIM_?" Agnes demanded in disgust.

"After what you did to Sean, I'd deal with the devil himself just to make you suffer!" Kieran all but sneered.

Agnes stood up getting in Kieran's face. "You can't hurt me, the entire witch community will turn against you!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Klaus. "Please, enough! I don't care about witch politics. I don't care about your ridiculous little Harvest ritual. What I care about is this trinket." He held up the Needle of Sorrows. "Undo its curse, or I'll show you things worse than death!"

Agnes smirked at Klaus. "Dark objects don't come with an off-switch! The curse took root in Sophie, she's linked to your devil children and with their death, you'll lose the one you care about. It's just a matter of time!"

" _I WILL KILL YOUR ENTIRE LINE!"_ He shouted, enraged. "Don't tempt me!"

Agnes flinched back from the force of his anger.

* * *

Caroline helped Hayley outside, wrapping a towel around her shoulders. Usually Hayley wouldn't accept someone treating her like an invalid but she honestly felt like crap.

Caroline was helping her sit down beside the swimming pool when a wave dizziness and she stumbled back.

"Woah." A hand landed on her back, steadying her. "You alright there, Caroline?" Rebekah asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just lost my footing." Caroline dismissed, standing up straighter, trying to force the dizziness away.

"No, you're not. You're feeling whatever it is they've done to Hayley." Rebekah took her by the arm and set her down on one of the lounge chairs.

"No, I was just having a moment of clumsiness." Caroline tried to push back to her feet but fell back into the lounge chair.

"Vampires are not clumsy by nature." Rebekah scoffed. "Don't get back up. We have to worry about Hayley and the babies. I can't worry about you too." And though her words were a little harsh, it didn't take from the concern in her eyes.

"But I need to check Hayley's temperature." Caroline protested, trying to get up again.

"I'll do it." Rebekah put her hand on her shoulder, forcing her back down. "Don't move."

Caroline frowned but nodded, handing Rebekah a thermometer.

Rebekah cast a worried glance at Caroline, expecting a bigger fight from her. She must really be feeling whatever it is attacking the babies and Hayley. Rebekah moved over to Hayley checking her temperature, while Elijah joined them, helping Sophie with some witch herbs.

Elijah removed his coat quickly. "She's burning up! We need to do this now."

"Clearly," Caroline breathed out deeply, a hand going to her chest, she felt her own skin heating up, it felt like she was sweating bullets. "I can feel it."

Rebekah stepped toward Caroline worried, pressing a hand to her forehead, cursing under her breath, her temperature was running hotter than Hayley's if that was even possible. Maybe it was because she had a direct link to the babies whose lives were the ones in jeopardy.

"Get her in the water!" Sophie ordered Elijah urgently.

Elijah jumped into the pool and then helped Hayley in.

Sophie mixed herbs in a cup and followed them in.

"I don't see how a midnight swim is supposed to help," stated Rebekah, casting worried glances at Caroline, she had gotten paler her skin taking on an ugly pallor color.

"Her temperature is sky-high. The water, with the help of the herbs, should cool us down," said Sophie.

"Should we get Caroline in there as well?" Rebekah worried.

"No, if we can help Hayley then both Caroline and the twins should be fine." Sophie cast a look at Hayley and frowned, she had to hurry. If Caroline died Klaus wouldn't just kill her, he'd make her suffer unimaginably so. She was sure of it.

Sophie waded into the pool, quickly handing Hayley a drink. "Drink this!" she looked to Elijah. "You're going to have to get her heart rate down."

"How do you suggest I do that?" questioned Elijah.

"Hold her," said Sophie. "It's a natural human remedy to slow the heart rate and reduce blood pressure."

"This is never gonna work." Rebekah scoffed.

Elijah scooped Hayley up into his arms, holding her against his chest bridal-style. "Davina will break the link, we just need time."

Hayley clung tightly to Elijah, letting out a groan of pain as she gasped for breath.

Caroline gasped when she felt a sudden pain coursed through her, she placed a hand to her chest, struggling to feel anything but pain.

"Caroline?" Rebekah turned to her worriedly when she made a pain noise, her eyes widened when she saw Caroline's skin, graying over, black veins slowly appearing on her hands. "Bloody hell." She breathed. They had two minutes at best and then this city was going to bleed because her brother had lost Caroline.

* * *

Davina sat on her bed in her room, studying the spell Elijah gave her intently. She stared at the two sanguinum knots on her vanity, and after a moment, she stood up, walking over to it. She picked up both knots, one in each hand, she took a deep breath. "Phesmatosomniolegarescardate…" she started to chant, her voice a little above a whisper.

* * *

"I can't breathe!" Hayley's breath came out in sharp harsh pants as she started to hyperventilate.

"Okay, long deep breaths, Hayley!" Elijah said, forcing her to focus back on him. "Look at me. Long deep breaths, just focus on the sound of my voice." he lowered his voice to a whisper. "You'll be okay. You'll be okay."

"She might be but the babies won't." Caroline gasped, closing her fist and pressing it tightly against her chest as she felt a wave of pain ripple through her.

" _Caroline!"_

Caroline's eyes snapped to Rebekah hearing the alarm and the underlining fear in her voice. Rebekah was looking at her in horror.

Rebekah crouched in front of Caroline, taking her hand in hers. "You're dessicating."

Caroline saw the skin of her hand graying over black veins spreading across her skin as she started to lose feeling in her body. "I can't- I can't.."

Rebekah's hand tightened around hers. "You can't what?"

"I can't feel your hand against my own." she looked at Rebekah unable to push the fear away. "Am I going to die?"

"No." Rebekah shook her head sharply. "Just hang in there. You're going to be fine." If Caroline was to die Rebekah knew there would be no quelling Nik's rage or his grief.

* * *

"Phesmato somnio legares cardate sangorium." Davina chanted just as the clock on her table chimed as it hit 09:00 PM.

* * *

"AHHHH!" Hayley started to scream in pain. "AHHHH!"

Caroline gasped, it felt like fire licking at her skin, she slumped forward, she thought she would have hit the ground but she felt Rebekah's arms slipping around her as she repeated her name in alarm. "Caroline? Caroline!"

Black dots danced in her vision as her vision narrowed down, the last thing she saw was the rare genuine look of concern plain as day on Rebekah's face and the sound of Hayley screaming in pain before she lost consciousness.

" _Bloody hell_ ," Rebekah muttered, holding Caroline unconscious form against her.

* * *

The knots in Davina's hands floated to the air and started to unravel the knot coming undone.

* * *

"Caroline?" Rebekah shook her by the shoulders. " _Caroline!_ " she shook her harder when she got no response.

Sophie started to gasp as the linking spell began to lift but Hayley continued to groan in pain.

* * *

The knot completely unraveled itself in midair, and Davina smiled delighted, giggling in happiness.

* * *

Sophie looked up at the sky. "I just felt it lift."

Rebekah's eyes darted back to Caroline when she saw Hayley calming down and Elijah looked at her stunned. "Caroline?" she shook her, sighing in relief when she saw her skin returning back to normal and that she was no longer desiccating. "Caroline?" she shook her.

Caroline's eyes fluttered open slowly and she pulled away from Rebekah, looking around she saw Hayley standing on her own in the pool but leaning against Elijah's body. She noted Hayley didn't look to be in any more pain, she remembered her screaming before she lost consciousness. "Is the link broken?"

Sophie removed one of her earrings and poke her palm with it until she drew blood, Hayley watched her not feeling it. Elijah held up her hand and they both stared at each other in wonder.

Rebekah noticing their shared moment and pushed herself back to her feet and held a hand out to Caroline.

"Thanks." Caroline accepted her assistance and let her pull her up.

Elijah quickly let go of Hayley's hand and led her out of the pool. "Come on, let's go."

"Elijah...as soon as your brother finds out that the link is broken, he'll kill Agnes. I know you don't owe me anything, but please, don't let him kill her." Sophie pleaded, she needed Agnes.

Elijah vampsped over to his jacket where it laid on the table and retrieved his phone.

"Elijah!" Sophie yelled after him, stepping out of the water toward him. "She's our only access to the power we NEED to survive. Promise me that you'll stop him!"

"Caroline almost died." Rebekah snapped. "Nothing is going to keep Klaus from killing Agnes. Not even Elijah."

Caroline hated that the thought of Klaus killing Agnes filled her with a sense of peace and validation. Or how she wanted to kill Sophie even if there was a part of her that was getting quieter by the day that killing her was wrong no matter what Sophie had done to her.

Elijah ignored Rebekah's words, he knew Caroline mattered to his brother but he doubted he would choose her over him, earning his forgiveness for daggering and handing him over to Marcel. He dialed Klaus's number into his phone, raising it to his ear. "It's me, where are you?" he paused a beat. "Don't hurt her. I'll be there shortly." he ordered before hanging up and turning to Sophie. "I'll make you one last promise. I won't let my brother kill Agnes."

Sophie nodded at him in relief and Rebekah scoffed. If Elijah actually believed he would be able to stop Klaus from harming someone who harmed Caroline he clearly has yet to learn just how much Caroline meant to their brother. No matter, he would learn soon enough, no one got in between Klaus and Caroline. She still remembered how he had chosen to save Caroline over her.

Elijah grabbed up his jacket and shoes and walked away. Sophie and Hayley both turned to get out of the pool, but Hayley stopped Sophie at the steps, Hayley glanced at Rebekah and Caroline, the former seemed pretty occupied in making sure Caroline was going to be okay, Hayley turned back to Sophie. "I know we have our understanding," their deal. "And you were just using me to save your people, but try it again, and I will have to kill you." Deal or no deal. She didn't care what secrets they shared. She would not have her life in jeopardy because of Sophie.

Hayley waded out of the pool, brushing past Caroline and Rebekah. Sophie sighed in defeat, her eyes sliding to Caroline and Rebekah. Grimacing she hoped Elijah stayed true to his word and kept Klaus from killing Agnes.

* * *

Rebekah walked into Elijah's bedroom after reassuring herself Caroline was fine. She noticed he changed into some dry clothes.

She leaned in the doorway. Once the danger was gone would thing had become clear, she smiled. "The unlinking worked! Maybe now we can make plans-"

"Not now, Rebekah." he cut her off sharply, walking toward the door in a hurry. "Can we discuss this when I return?"

Rebekah smiled faded as she turned serious. "I won't be here when you return."

Elijah stopped turning back to Rebekah. "That sounds like a goodbye."

"...I guess it is. I only came to New Orleans to make sure you were safe. You are." Rebekah said, there was no reason for her to stay longer, not really. "I thought that I might be able to convince you to come with me, but here you are, rushing into whatever Klaus and Marcel and the witches have cooked up. And I finally get it." her eyes teared up. "You'll never leave this city. You'll never leave Klaus."

Elijah looked at her and closed the distance between them. "Then you should stay."

Rebekah shook her head. "This thing that you and Klaus and Marcel have, I want no part of it" tears fell down her cheeks as she was overwhelmed by her own emotions. "I just want to be free." It's what she always wanted and she didn't think that was too much too ask.

"Well, then, go." Elijah responded sadly, kissing her cheek. "You are free." he turned, leaving her behind and Rebekah breathed in deeply, trying to compose herself.

* * *

Marcel finished off his drink just as Rebekah walked into the room. He was surprised she was visiting him at his place again. "Rebekah. Twice in one night. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, watching her move closer.

"Call me old-fashioned, but I believe farewells are best in person." Rebekah responded.

Marcel inhaled sharply. "You got Elijah back, and now you two are gonna tuck-tail and run? Smart girl." he paused a beat, locking her gaze. "Have a nice life."

"He's staying. And I'm not running, I'm disembarking a sinking ship." Rebekah defended herself.

"People have been saying this city's been sinking since I was a boy. It ain't going anywhere. But hey!" Marcel grabbed up a bottle of scotch. "How 'bout one for the road?" he poured the scotch into a glass.

"Why? So you can liquor me up and convince me to stay?" Rebekah challenged.

Marcel stood up, stepping into her space. "Why else did you come here?"

Rebekah swallowed against the feeling she got at his close proximity. "I came to say goodbye."

Marcel leaned in, whispering in her ear. "Then say it." he pulled back to stare into her eyes for a long moment.

"Forget it." Rebekah said breaking the tense moment turning to leave but Marcel grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward him, kissing her. He couldn't just let her go when everything in him screamed at him to kiss her, to give into the feelings he still had for her.

Rebekah pushed him away, glaring angrily that he had kissed her and hating that he had the effect to make her want more, still after all this time. She ran up to him, pressing her mouth against his kissing him.

Marcel pushed her away just enough so he could take off her clothes, his mouth going right back to hers, deepening their kisses. Rebekah shoved him into a chair, climbing into his lap, straddling him. They both knew where this was going and were helpless to their desires to even try and put a stop to it. Losing themselves in their lust for one another.

* * *

The longer he was in the old witches presence the angrier Klaus got.

"You're a piece of work, Agnes. But, guess what? I'm quite a piece of work myself. You know, I contemplated leaving bits of you arranged outside your family's tomb? I thought it would leave a fitting message." He vamp-sped over to Agnes his hand wrapping around her throat in a chokehold as he hoisted her into the air. "Don't. Touch. My. Family." His eyes flickered black and amber. "Especially _Caroline_."

The doors to the church opened and Elijah stepped inside. "Leave her." he commanded, his eyes on his brother.

Klaus pulled Agnes into a headlock, his hands tightly around her, standing back as he watched Elijah walked down the aisle.

"I gave my word." Elijah told him, drawing closer.

Father Kieran stood up to greet Elijah, his eyes flickering between him and Klaus.

"You tend to give your word at the most inopportune times, brother. We've been doing things your way all day. Come on! Just one little snap and it's 'Toodle-loo, Agnes.' She deserves it!" There was no way he was going to let the old hag live another night.

"Niklaus, don't make another move. If you want my forgiveness I will grant you that forgiveness, but do not make me break my word." Elijah spoke calmly, so confident and so self-assured that he would be able to talk his brother down.

Klaus glared at his brother. "Your forgiveness?" Klaus repeated. "You think I want your forgiveness? I don't give a bloody crap about your forgiveness." his voice change to a sneer. "The only thing I care about is making her pay for risking Caroline's life."

"This isn't about her." Elijah stepped toward his brother. "This is about your family."

"It is always about her. Caroline is what matters to me!" his arm tightened around Agnes and she started to choke, her eyes watering as she struggled for breath. "She is mine to protect, to keep safe, to make sure no harm comes to her. In that respect she is family. And I intend to keep her at my side for as long she will allow it." His eyes flicker again. "Do not underestimate Caroline's worth, brother. It's a mistake you don't want to make."

"Niklaus. Be reasonable." Elijah took another step further. "This is about more than just-"

"I don't care." Klaus released his hold on Agnes.

Elijah's shoulders dropped, glad to have gotten through to him.

Or so he thought.

Klaus sent him a smirk before gripping Agnes head in his hands and pulling, smirking darkly.

Agnes' eyes widened in fear, her face contorting in agony, she started to scream but it was cut off, the flesh of her neck tearing from her shoulder as Klaus ripped her head off with his bare hands, blood spraying everywhere, splatters catching his clothes, his neck, his hands covered with her blood.

"Niklaus!" Elijah shouted in an angry reprimand before vamp-speeding over to one of the men who brought Agnes and ripped his heart out, he threw the second one into the air and did the same with the third, ripping their hearts from their chest, he turned back to Klaus with their bloody hearts in his hands.

Klaus tossed Agnes head next to her decapitated body on the ground, raising a brow at Elijah.

Elijah glared at Klaus, dropping the hearts to the floor. He pulled out his pocket square from his suit to wipe his hands clean of the blood. " _I_ was going to kill her. _I_ was going make an example out of her. That nobody hurts my family and lives. _No one_."

"I don't much care what you were going to do." Klaus stepped over Agnes body and into his brother's space. "I was always going to be the one to kill her because anyone who wrongs Caroline _will die_. Let that be a warning to _you, brother._ "

Elijah frowned, his glare fading. "What are you implying?"

"You invaded her mind, her privacy and I know you heard what she told me, yet you still haven't apologized to her. The only reason, _the only reason_ I haven't made you pay in spades for what you did is because you are my brother but try something like that again and even that won't keep me from seeking justice on her behalf." Klaus pushed past him.

Elijah turned, grasping Klaus's arm and turning him back around to face him. "Does she really mean that much to you, Niklaus? That you would go so far as to threaten your own family?"

Klaus tore his arm from Elijah's grip. "You can't even begin to fathom how much she means to me." he didn't spare Elijah another look as he walked out of the church, leaving behind a shocked Elijah.

He needed to see Caroline. Needed to see with his own eyes that she was safe. That the old witch failed. He just needed to see her.

* * *

Rebekah leaned on the balcony railing of the Abbatoir looking out at the people on the street, wearing nothing but Marcel's button-up shirt. He came up behind her nuzzling her neck. "Mmm." Rebekah hummed, tilting her neck, giving him more room. "I've been away from this home almost a hundred years, and you haven't changed a thing in my bedroom."

Marcel smiled against her skin. "I guess I was holding out hope that you'd come back to it. Though, I imagine it's not quite as comfortable as those beds at the Palace Royale Hotel."

His words brought on a hint of guilt that she was lying to him about where she was staying. She smiled awkwardly. "It's plenty comfortable!" she turned away from him, moving to her bag. "I'm famished!" She pulled an apple out of her bag and offered it to him, hoping to distract him in some way.

"Nah," Marcel shook his head. "Apples aren't my thing."

"They were your favorite, once upon a time." Rebekah pointed out in surprise.

"Ah, they were!" Marcel admitted with a nod. "I'd get my ass beat if I ever ate them working on that plantation. Even the spoiled ones. Now, they just remind me of a time when I couldn't have things."

Rebekah leaned against him, grabbing his arms. "Well, now you can have whatever you want." She stared into his eyes, a beat passing between them. "Come with me."

"And go where Rebekah?" Marcel asked the thought of leaving his city was inconceivable to him.

"Wherever we want to!" Rebekah responded, staring up at him searchingly. "We can build a home together, we can leave behind Klaus, this city, and those Orphan-Annie vampires…"

"Whoa, whoa, those "Orphan-Annie vampires" are my family, and this city is my home." Marcel defended, stopping her.

"It was my home, too, once." Rebekah pointed out, dropping her hands from him. "I left."

"You ran." Marcel countered strongly. "I stayed! This empire thrives because of me, and you want me to run? A man does not run from his home!"

Rebekah took a step back from him. "I've lived a lot longer than you have, Marcellus. I have seen kings rise, and fall, but there is one thing I know to be true. It is that no matter how big your empire becomes, it is _nothing_ if you have no one to share it with." her blue gaze hardened into a glare. "You want New Orleans? Have it. I won't be here to stop you." She shoved the apple into his chest and turned on her heel, leaving.

If he wouldn't leave with her she wasn't going to stick around. If he couldn't choose her over one stupid doomed city of vampires and witches then he didn't deserve her.

Marcel stared out at the street, looking conflicted. He looked at the apple thoughtfully, lifting it to his nose, smelling it, the scent of it all too familiar.

* * *

The sound of a knock sounded at the plantation home, Caroline moved toward the door but Hayley was already pulling it open to reveal a young man around her age.

"Where is he? I've been trying to find him all day. Marcel KNOWS that Klaus lied to him about where he lives." The man said, his eyes worried.

"I'm not his damn keeper, Josh." Hayley said in annoyance.

"Wait," Caroline stepped forward. "Your Josh, the one Klaus has helping him?"

"The one he's been compelling, yes." Josh nodded. "It's Caroline, right?"

"Caroline Forbes." Caroline nodded. "Klaus should be back soon, you can come inside and wait if you want."

Hayley looked between them before sighing and walking away.

"No, that's okay." Josh said, surprised by the polite offer.

"You sure? You can have some blood why you wait." Caroline offered. "Klaus keeps blood bags on hand for me, you're welcome to one if you like."

Josh frowned. "I'm sorry but what are you doing living here with Klaus? He's scary and terrifying and you're not." He gave a small smile. "You seem too nice for someone like Klaus."

Caroline chuckled. "Hearing that doesn't surprise me. So would you like to wait for him?"

"No that's okay but thanks." Josh shook his head. "Just...tell him to call me, please."

"Yeah, of course." Caroline smiled. "As soon as I see him I'll have him give you a call."

"Thanks." Josh offered a timid smile. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too." Caroline waited till he walked back down the steps before closing the door.

Marcel stood behind a tree, watching as Josh walked away unaware of his presence, unaware that he just heard everything that was said between him and whoever the brunette and blonde were . Marcel looked down noticing a bunch of apples that had fallen from the tree. He picked one up, the sight of it, standing beneath the tree brought an old memory to the surface.

 _A young Marcel grunted in pain as he was whipped by a slavemaster. Tired of being whipped and treated like he was nothing, he snatched up an apple and brought his arm back, throwing the apple as hard as he could at the man in anger._

Marcel looked at the apple in his hand, his jaw clenching and then he looked over at the plantation house, his hand tightening around the apple.

* * *

Caroline turned heading toward the kitchen. Hayley was at the island, dipping pickles in chocolate ice cream."

Caroline's face scrunched up grossed out as she grabbed a bag of blood and poured it into a glass.

"What?" Hayley asked, seeing her expression. "Never seen a pregnant girl eat before?"

"Not something so gross, no." Caroline lifted her glass to her lips, swallowing the blood down.

"And that isn't?" Hayley retorted making a disgusted face.

Caroline shrugged. "You know, you didn't have to be so rude to Josh."

"Why? He's just some vampire Klaus is using. What does it matter?" Hayley replied.

Caroline opened her mouth to reply that just because Klaus was using him, it didn't mean Josh didn't matter. He was still a person who had the unfortunate luck of getting pulled into this mess. However, she was cut off before she could get a word out as another knock sounded through the home.

"I thought Josh left." Hayley complained, going to answer the door.

Caroline followed, wondering if he changed his mind about waiting.

"Ugh, what the hell, Josh?" Hayley complained pulling the door open, her eyes widening when she saw it was not Josh.

"Hi there, I'm Marcel." Marcel smiled widely and Caroline stepped forward, her hand reaching out to pull Hayley back, her first instinct being to keep the twins safe and that meant keeping Hayley safe. "I don't think we've met!"

Hayley stumbled back as Caroline pulled her behind her. She clenched her jaw, even as fear shot through her at the sight of the man.

Caroline placed herself in front of him, putting on a false smile. "We haven't but I've heard a lot about you."

"All good things I hope." Marcel grinned.

Caroline smiled falsely. "Depends on who spoke of you."

Marcel laughed, his eyes lit with amusement. "Touché."

* * *

Klaus walked down bourbon street, his phone out as he called Caroline's cell, needing to know she was okay. He clenched his jaw when all he got was her voicemail, angrily he shoved his phone back in his pocket feeling an urgency to get home and see her.

"Hey, where you been?"

Marcel's voice from behind him had him stopping in his tracks, he rolled his eyes in annoyance before turning to Marcel, keeping his expression neutral.

"Not still mad about our tiff the other night, are you?" Marcel asked, a glint in his eye.

Klaus forced a fake smile. "Water under the bridge."

"Cami's all yours if you're interested." Marcel nodded at the door to Rousseau's. It was only then that Klaus realized they were standing just outside the bar. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was not interested in some human bartender, her only used to him was finding out things he needed to know about the man in front of him.

"I'm feeling like right now's not the right time to pursue a relationship. Life's all about timing, you know? Speaking of, I swung by your house earlier to commiserate over a drink, but I must have just missed you."

"Oh, the Palace Royale didn't suit me, I moved on weeks ago." Klaus lied smoothly.

Marcel smiled and shook his head, a glint in his eye. "Nooo, I mean your other place."

* * *

Elijah walked through the plantation home, frowning at how silent it was. Like no one was there.

"Hayley?" He called out, looking around.

* * *

"Interesting location to put down your roots, the same plantation where I was a slave. I guess that's why you never invited me over." Marcel commented, his eyes calculating.

"Well, how rude of me," replied Klaus, pretending not to be bothered that Marcel knew where he was really staying. "I'll speak to Elijah. I'm sure he'll be pleased to host you and Davina for the evening! Especially after you were so hospitable to him." Klaus smiled insincerely.

Marcel smiled, chuckling. "Good! I look forward to it." He extended his hand.

Klaus shook it, showing no hesitation but as soon as Marcel continued on his way past him, his smile vanished, a look of worry feeling his eyes. His only thought of Caroline.

* * *

Elijah stood in Hayley's room, worry coursing through him as he put his phone to his ear.

"Goodbye means goodbye, Elijah." Elijah could hear the sound of the wind and cars on her end and knew she was heading out of the city.

"Is she with you?" he asked worriedly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rebekah demanded. Who the hell was she supposed to have with her?

"Hayley's gone, where is she?" Elijah asked, hoping Rebekah knew.

"WHAT?" Rebekah responded in shock her brow furrowing. "Wait, is Caroline gone, too?"

Elijah turned around at footsteps behind and saw Klaus in the doorway, anxiousness coming off him in ways.

"Marcel was here." Klaus looked around. "Tell me Caroline is here."

Elijah stunned by the news that Marcel was there absently dropped the phone from his ear.

"Where's Caroline?" Klaus repeated. "Elijah, tell me where she is?"

"She's not here. Neither is Hayley." Elijah said. "If Marcel was here and they're gone.."

Klaus's eyes flashed. "I have to find her. I have to get Caroline back!" He whirled around to leave.

Elijah sped blocking his path. "Brother, you're not thinking rationally. We need to be smart about this."

Klaus eyes changed to black and amber a growl ripping from his chest. "Get out of my way!" he shoved him to the side making his back slam into Hayley's bedroom door. "I'm going to get her back and I don't care what I have to do or who I have to go through, including you."

Klaus pushed past him, desperation taking over. He had to find her even if he had to tear through the city.

He would find his Caroline.

* * *

 **A/N: Reviews are encouraged.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Important message at the end of the chapter. Please be sure to read it. I hope you enjoy this chapter:)**

* * *

Marcel looked down on his courtyard in the Abattoir, hundreds of his vampires had congregated, forming quite the crowd as they conversed and drank.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Fight Night!" Marcel welcome them with his air of charm and charisma, drawing their full focus. "And, the first rule of Fight Night is: The vampire left standing at the end of the night is one step closer to the inner circle, and one of these" he held on his hand where a daylight rested on his finger. "a daylight ring. If you can impress me with a little ultra-violence, you too can enjoy the warmth of the sun on your face. All you got to do is kick a little ass." He encouraged. "Here we go!"

All the vampires started to form a circle as they waited for the announcement of the fighters, for their name to be called, waiting for the chance, for a shot at their very own daylight ring.

"Our first two contenders: Felicia and Otto!" Marcel announced loudly, his voice ringing out around them.

Felicia and Otto stepped into the circle the group formed and the two vampires went at each other, giving the fight their all, as the rest of the vampires cheered them on.

At one point it appeared that Otto had the upper-hand, but ultimately Felicia won the fight, killing Otto.

"Damn, girl!" Marcel praised impressed. "Not bad!"

Felicia grinned up at Marcel, pride feeling her but then she felt a hand yanking her back her head being pulled roughly to the side, baring her neck not a second later her flesh was being torn, sharp fangs sinking into her neck, a hot fire ripped through her, it felt like she was burning from the inside out. A scream escaped her lips one of pain and agony.

"Niklaus!" Elijah pulled on Klaus, making him release his hold on the girl, she dropped to her knees, hand covering her ripped throat, shaking.

The whole courtyard fell silent and Marcel glared down at Klaus.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" demanded Marcel. "We had a deal. I was under the impression you weren't going to go around killing my people."

"It appears that we've interrupted a collection of filthy amateurs!" Elijah cut in, looking around at the other vampires distastefully. "We've come here for-"

"You took someone from me and I want her back!" Blood dripped down Klaus's chin, his eyes blackened. "You will return her to me or your vampires will start dropping like flies!" he waved his hand at Felicia. She's not dead. Yet. You want to save her life you'll do as I want."

Elijah glared at Klaus for rudely cutting him off. "We just want you to give us the girls. It would be a shame if we had to start killing all of you," He stared up at Marcel. "Starting with you."

"You two got a lot of nerve, coming into my home and making demands." Marcel looked down at them from his balcony, his hands wrapped around the banister.

"Your home, is it?" Klaus repeated, damn near scoffing. It was his home. He built it.

"The girls!" Elijah's voice echoed around them. "I will not ask again."

"I assume you're talking about Hayley and Caroline? Yea high, one has dark hair, bitchy attitude? And the pretty little blonde, she was a whole lot more charming? Who are they, anyway?"

"Their both old friends. You know how sentimental I am about old friends." Klaus stepped forward, wiping the blood from his chin. "However, some friends are worth more than others." Klaus's warning was clear. He really didn't want to have to kill Marcel but if it came down to him and Caroline, he knew what his choice was gonna be. He would always choose Caroline.

"Well, I ain't got them. And before you start whining, I did pay them a little visit earlier tonight. I was feeling nostalgic, so I took a trip out to the plantation where I used to be a slave. And, imagine my surprise when I realized that the Original family of vampires had taken up residence." Marcel informed them, his eyes narrowing. "Your girls, Hayley and Caroline, answered the door, we exchanged hellos, that was it. You don't believe me? Look around. Hell, I'll even help you find them." He leaned forward, gripping the banister more tightly. "But the question that I'd ask is: if Hayley and Caroline aren't here, then where are they?"

* * *

Hayley felt the familiar feeling of being inside a moving vehicle, her eyes snapped open, she saw Caroline unconscious across from her near the back. She tried to sit up but she couldn't her wrist tightly bound. She struggled to get her feet toward the window and tried to kick the window out, hoping she could escape somehow.

"Caroline?" She hissed, hoping she could wake her, she sighed in annoyance when the blonde didn't so much as twitch.

The vehicle came to a sudden stop and a moment later the trunk was being open, a pair of arms reaching for her, she immediately started kicking, anything to keep them from touching her, the force in which she kicked had her body sliding closer to Caroline, bumping into her.

"Seriously?" said a male voice.

Hayley knew that voice, it was almost as recognizable as her own. "Tyler?"

"You don't wanna fight me, Hayley. You know you can't beat a hybrid." He used her shock against her and zip tied her ankles, ensuring that she couldn't run away.

"Aahh!" She struggled against him once again realizing what he was doing. "Let me go, you backstabbing half-breed piece of shi-"

"Shut up!" Tyler snapped, cutting her off, he pulled her out of the trunk, throwing her over his shoulder, he cast Caroline's form a quick glance making sure the vervain he injected her with was keeping her down.

He walked away from his vehicle, walking down the road, his hybrid eyes glowing with the anger and frustration coursing through him.

* * *

Elijah and Klaus were seated in the backyard of the Abattoir waiting for Marcel.

"Not the most attractive community, are they?" Asked Elijah in mild distaste.

"You do realize they can hear you?" Klaus muttered, wiping the blood from his wrist. He had cured the vampire he had bitten in return Marcel would help them narrow down Hayley and Caroline's location.

"You do realize I don't care?" Elijah responded.

"You know, Elijah, I liked you better in that box," Marcel said approaching them. Followed by some of his vampires and the witch, Sabine.

Elijah only response to that was to stare back at Marcel unapologetic.

Marcel turned to Klaus. "But Klaus, my sire, you I owe the world, and I always show respect to my elders. If your special lady friends are missing, you could benefit from the help of a witch. And, since I control all the witches in this town, I'll grant you one little locator spell. Sabine's the best guide in the Quarter. Need to find someone? I guarantee, she's your girl." he turned on his heel to leave them to their business.

"Where are you going?" Klaus called after him.

Marcel turned back to him. "I hate to cut this short, but the sun's coming up soon. My nightwalkers need to get inside, and I have got a city to run. I leave you to track down your two lost sheep." With those departing words, he left.

"Can you find them?" Elijah asked Sabine, his focus solely on her.

"I can try," Sabine answered.

"There is no try!" Klaus said sharply, leveling her with a heavy glare. "You will get it done!'

Sabine glared but said nothing.

* * *

Tyler dropped Hayley on the front stoop of a little shack.

"What is this place?" Hayley looked around.

"The armpit of Louisiana." Tyler pulled a knife out of his pocket.

"What are you gonna do with that?" asked Hayley worriedly.

"Depends on you." He used the knife to cut through the zip ties on her ankles.

"Hey, you attacked me, remember?" Hayley glared angrily. "You ambushed me, in my own backyard."

"It's not your backyard, it's Klaus's! You're shacked up in that mansion with that psycho. A long way from the girl I've met in the Appalachians, helping other werewolves." Tyler snapped. "What Caroline wasn't enough for him he had to have you, too and you go right along with it."

Hayley looked at him apologetically. "Tyler, I'm sorry, but a lot has happened since the last time I saw you."

"You mean that you're pregnant? Two-hybrid babies, yeah, I know all about it. I've been roaming around the bayou, asking questions. Let me tell you what I learned!" He pulled down Hayley's sweater-sleeve baring the birthmark on her shoulder. "This crescent birthmark means you come from a big-shot family. Some kind of royalty for the werewolves of this region. And right here," he gestured around him, "this is all that's left of them."

Hayley looked around and saw more shacks and tents made of blankets. Hayley spotted a woman standing nearby. "Hey!" She called out to her.

The woman jumped startled and turned on her heel, sprinting away, fleeing.

"Help me!" Hayley yelled after her.

"They can't help you!" Tyler snapped at her. "They're in the woods, hiding because they were persecuted for decades by vampires."

"Is that her?" A man asked her, appearing.

"Yeah, Dwayne. Get her inside." Tyler ordered, walking away. He had to go back for Caroline before she regained consciousness and properly bound her so she couldn't complicate matters further.

The man stalked toward her and Hayley called after Tyler's retreating figure. "Tyler? Tyler!"

* * *

Sabine waved her hand over a map she had spread out on a table in the courtyard of the Abattoir. A puddle of Klaus' blood traced from their current location to where Hayley was in the bayou.

"Hayley's in the backcountry and if you're lucky Caroline is with her." Sabine looked the location on the map over. "They're Way up, past Houma, deep in the bayou."

"I don't suppose you could be more precise?" Elijah questioned.

"What's the matter, Elijah? You're worried a bit of splashing about in the bog might ruin your expensive shoes?" Klaus challenged.

"As a matter of fact, after my recent confinement, I could use a decent stroll through the countryside." Elijah countered, refusing to rise to his brother's bating taunts.

"There are stories of exiled werewolves, encampments," Sabine informed them. "If Hayley went out that far, chances are she went to find them."

"Clearly, she hopes to make the acquaintance of more like herself. I suppose our company wasn't good enough for her." Klaus groused. "And if she roped Caroline up in this we are going to have a serious problem."

Elijah looked at Sabine worriedly. After Klaus's display in the church, he wasn't sure just how far Niklaus was willing to go for Ms. Forbes.

* * *

Josh was seated at a table, drinking and watching a group of vampires play drinking games.

"You could always join them, you know."

Josh looked up to see Marcel approaching him.

"Uh, drinking games? It's not really my thing." Josh shook his head, shooting the suggestion down. "It kind of reminds me of the jocks in my high school. We had a pretty high quota of what you'd call 'douche-nozzles.'"

Marcel smiled. "Bullies, huh?"

"Yeah." Josh nodded.

"Wonder what'd happen if you saw those guys now. I bet you'd tear them apart, right? " Marcel asked archly.

"Ah, yeah, totally. Ha probably go all vamp ninja on them." Josh responded uncomfortably, the thought of killing his old bullies never even cross his mind. He never wanted to hurt people no matter how horrible they might have been.

Marcel laughed. "You're a funny guy, Josh." he narrowed his eyes suddenly. "In fact, I thought it was really funny last night, you know, seeing you at that plantation where Klaus is staying."

Josh quickly stood up, his instincts telling him to run, but he found his path blocked by several other vampires.

"Oh, hoho, hahaha!" Marcel chuckled darkly. "You going somewhere, Josh?"

Josh swallowed nervously in response.

* * *

Klaus and Elijah made their way out to the Bayou and were searching near the werewolf encampments for Hayley and Caroline.

"You seem quite determined to find the little wolf," Klaus commented watching as Elijah kept a fast pace.

"If I'm moving too fast for you, Niklaus, you're welcome to wait in the car. Do be certain to leave the windows down." Elijah snarked back at him condescendingly.

"Ah, so I've touched a nerve?" Klaus smirked. "You've begun to admire this girl. Perhaps that's why you've been barking orders since your return, hoping to impress Hayley by assuming the role of family patriarch."

"If you're going to insist on treating her like a walking incubator, then that's your mistake!" Elijah snapped.

"I've made it no secret that she means nothing to me. Her only value is my twins that she carries. Her presence is inconvenient but necessary."

"Her life matters, Niklaus, she is the mother of your children and you should treat her with the same importance you do Ms. Forbes."

"She is _not_ Caroline," Klaus said sharply, sniffing around catching a familiar scent that had his ire rising to the surface. He looked around, eyes narrowing.

"Have you found Hayley or Caroline's scent?" Elijah asked, watching as he clenched his jaw.

"No, but I found someone else's. This vehicle reeks of someone I thought I was rid of...Tyler Lockwood." He sneered the name with disgust and loathing.

"And why would your little hybrid-sidekick from Mystic Falls have any interest in Hayley?"

"He wants revenge because I went after his girl." Klaus spat. Caroline had deserved better than the likes of Tyler Lockwood.

"Miss Forbes?" Elijah said with realization, knowing his brother had tried again and again to win over Caroline affection from the glimpse he had of her mind. Still, he thought there had to be more than Klaus was saying. "Why do I suspect this is the least of your offenses?" Elijah questioned accusingly.

"Back when I had the means to sire hybrids, he was my first, Although, I didn't give him much choice in the matter." Klaus pulled a blanket out of the abandoned car and sniffed at it. "He was loyal in the beginning, but he grew insubordinate, turned my other hybrids against me. I couldn't have that, so I massacred the lot of them. Tyler ran like a coward before I could finish him off."

"Anything else that you would like to share?" asked Elijah exasperated.

"Well, there was this business with his mum." his lips pulled up into a cruel smirk.

Elijah looked at him incredulously. "You killed his mother." his look turned to one of disapproval. "Wonderful," he said dryly.

"He needed to be taught a lesson!" Klaus snapped.

"And is that why you went after Caroline?" Elijah challenge.

Klaus glared at him. "I told you what she means to me and that has nothing to do with Bloody Lockwood. Caroline deserved better than him!"

"None of this would be happening if you didn't have an obsession with this girl," Elijah said accusingly.

Klaus glared. "Do not try and diminish what I feel for Caroline."

Elijah looked exasperated. "If what you say is true, there is a history there with Tyler and Caroline. Perhaps that history will keep him from hurting her but what's stopping him from harming, Hayley?" Elijah stepped forward his eyes hard. "You say Tyler needed to be taught a lesson but what lesson will you be taught, Niklaus, if he retaliates by harming Hayley?"

"So you do care about her. Well, go on, then. Have at it, brother. Save her. Claim what spoils you can." Klaus smirked, tauntingly. "I've sampled what she has to offer and let me tell you, she was lousy, the worst-"

Elijah cut him off, having heard enough of his brother talking ill of Hayley. "Niklaus, so help me…"

"Enough." Klaus cut him off not caring for his brother's chivalrous defense on Haley's behalf. All he cared about was tracking down Caroline. "I'll kill Tyler Lockwood myself." Caroline would just have to forgive him.

Klaus vamp-sped away with the intention of finding Caroline and ridding himself of Tyler Lockwood once and for all.

* * *

Marcel enters St. Anne's attic with a large canvas bag thrown over his shoulder.

"Marcel, something is happening," Davina informed him, her tone worried. "There is a witch doing magic in the Quarter."

"Oh, no worries, that one is Marcel-approved!" he waved her concern off. "Besides…" He dropped the large sack on the floor. "Got something else for you to handle!"

Marcel opened the bag to reveal Josh inside.

Josh got his bearings, looking around a little disoriented but when he saw Davina his expression clouded over with one of fear. "Oh, no. Y-you're the super witch."

"Say hi to Josh," Marcel told Davina introducing the young vampire.

"Why would you bring him here?" asked Davina confused.

"Josh has a problem. Klaus compelled him to spy on me." Marcel forced Josh to sit in a chair.

Josh struggled against his strong grip. "Agh!"

Marcel clamped a hand down hard on Josh's shoulder, forcing him to stay seated. "I can't have that. So I thought: 'I'll just kill Josh…'"

"Marcel, please!" Josh pleaded eyes wide with fear. "It's not my fault!"

"...then I thought: 'Killing a vampire, that would be breaking my own rule.' Smart thing to do is to flip Josh, that way, he can tell Klaus whatever I want." Marcel continued as if Josh hadn't spoken at all. "He could even spy for me. All we gotta do is wipe away that compulsion. So, what do you think?"

"I can make him forget what Klaus told him. But, the more Klaus said, the more it is gonna hurt." Davina cautioned.

"Hm, probably gonna hurt a lot." Marcel mused not knowing how far Klaus's compulsion went but guessing it went pretty deep. "Josh?" he asked, looking down at him.

"I-I'll do it, anything, yes," Josh answered quickly. He didn't want to die. What was some pain in comparison to dying, anyway? He paused, considering it. "How much pain are we talking?"

Davina held up a hand, beginning the painful process of removing Josh's compulsion.

His vision started to blur, and his mouth opened on a shout of pain, agony ripping through his skull, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

* * *

Caroline let out a groan, her eyes fluttered open and it took her a moment to get her bearings, feeling disoriented. She frowned at the feeling of the hard surface beneath her, rolling onto her back she tried to sit up but found it harder than it should have been, the familiar feeling of vervain coursing through her system.

"Your gonna be weak for a while." Hayley's voice sounded from a few feet away. "You were hit with a large dose of vervain."

"Why vervain?" Caroline managed to pull herself toward a wall and sat up against the wall, since her ankles wrist were bound, the rope burning like it had been soaked in vervain. Looking around, she frowned noticing they were in a rundown shack and that Hayley was zip-tied to a fire stove. "Shouldn't you be able to break free?" she thought werewolves were strong enough to break free of zip-ties.

"If I could don't you think I would have broken free already?!" Hayley snapped.

Caroline rolled her eyes wincing from the vervain ropes around ankles and wrist. "Well, who the hell is behind this?"

Hayley opened her mouth just as Tyler walked in. Caroline stared at him in wide-eyed surprise. "Tyler?"

"Don't even think about moving or I will inject you with enough vervain to even put down an original." Tyler's voice was cold as he glared at her.

"Why are you in New Orleans? Why are doing this?" Caroline demanded.

"I think the better question is what are you doing in New Orleans living with Klaus of all people?!" Tyler countered. "I don't know which of you is worse. You for living in his house or Hayley for being stupid enough to sleep with him and get knocked up? You want to know why I'm doing this? It should be pretty obvious." he sneered.

"This is about your grudge against Klaus?" Caroline asked in disbelief. " _Seriously?_!"

"Tyler, there's been a wolf watching me lately." Hayley cut in. "Protecting me, like it instinctively knows that I'm part of its pack." She paused, watching him closely. "You're a hybrid, you can turn into a wolf whenever you want. Was it you?"

"No, it wasn't him," Caroline interjected. "I've seen that wolf and I've seen Tyler's wolf. It's someone else." The wolf that had been following Hayley's fur wasn't pitch black. Tyler's wolf was.

"But you're right, only hybrids can control when they change," Tyler told Hayley. "And I'm the only one left, besides Klaus. Which is why we're here."

"Whatever you think you're doing, you know that whole Original family has made some sort of pact, or something, to keep me and my children safe. So, if you hurt me, they'll kill you." Hayley warned.

Caroline raised a brow at her. Hayley was putting a lot of importance on herself when really it was the babies that she carried that were the ones who were important.

"What makes you think I'm afraid to die?" Tyler asked her.

"What are you planning?" Caroline asked warily, she didn't think she could reason with him. She knew how much he hated Klaus and if this all boiled down to Klaus she wasn't sure how far he was willing to take this.

Caroline's gaze snapped up when she heard approaching footsteps. Dwayne had returned walking into the shack, joining them. Caroline frowned at the stranger having never seen him before.

"You ready for this?" Tyler addressed Dwayne.

Dwayne nodded. "Let's do it."

Tyler crouched down digging through a bag at his feet and drew out a large syringe.

Hayley's eyes widened, her breath spiking with fear. "What are you doing?"

"Tyler! Don't! Those babies are innocent!" Caroline shouted at him, she tried to push off the floor but fell back against the hard unforgiving floor and silently cursed the vervain in her system and the damn ropes enabling her.

Dwayne walked over to Hayley and held her down as Tyler crouched down in front of her. "Tyler, please, NO, Tyler!" She screamed panicked. Sophie would only help her with her pack if she helped her and she couldn't do that if she lost their leverage. If she lost Klaus and Caroline's babies she didn't have anything to bargain with, to help her people.

"Klaus destroyed everything good in my life! So, I'm gonna take away something of his!" he glanced back at Caroline who was trying to get up again. "And then I'm going to take what he wants most and leave this city. He'll never see you again!"

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Caroline grounded out. She couldn't believe what Tyler's grudge against Klaus had turned him into.

"NO, PLEASE, TYLER, PLEASE!" Hayley begged when Tyler focused back on her, her tone littered with fear and panic.

Tyler ignored her and jammed the syringe into Hayley's stomach. Hayley screamed out in pain as he drew out a measure of her blood.

When Tyler emoved the syringe from her body, he jammed it into Dwayne's neck, injecting him with the blood and then he snapped his neck, Dwayne dropped to the floor.

Hayley stared at him in horror.

Caroline looked at him in anger, her stomach twisting uncomfortably just looking at him.

* * *

Marcel walked through St. Anne's after dropping off Josh with Davina, he headed for the doors to leave but stopped when he noticed another presence.

"I thought you were leaving town!" Marcel called out. "Couldn't stay away, huh?"

He grunted when suddenly his back slamming into the floor, a stiletto heel, pressing against his neck, pinning him to the floor.

"I was half past Louisiana when I found out you invaded our home. What have you done with Hayley and Caroline?" she demanded.

"You're so hot when you're angry," Marcel told her, lips pulling into a smirk.

Rebekah lifted Marcel from the floor and threw him into the nearby wall. He bounced off it and fell into a heap on the floor. "Ahh."

"You used me!" Rebekah accused.

Marcel picked himself back up. "I'm pretty sure that was mutual."

"Beguiled by your charms, I slept with you, like a fool, led you to our home, and then you took Hayley and Caroline!" she accused.

"Whoa, I didn't take anybody!" Marcel protested. "Alright? I already sorted this out with your brothers. But, it begs the question: Why'd you come back?"

Rebekah's eyes narrowed dangerously. "If Klaus learns it's _my_ fault you found your way to the plantation-"

"You really think I'd rat you out?" Marcel interrupted. "Come on!" he reached out, caressing her cheek. "If you think that I'd ever, in a thousand years, do anything to hurt you, you've got me confused with Klaus."

"All your charms and flirtations simply prove that you're every bit the liar and manipulator that Klaus is." Rebekah glared at him and she was tired of falling for it.

Marcel looked at her with a hurt expression. "Is that what you really think?"

"By all means, prove me wrong." she challenged him.

"Fine," Marcel said, surprising her. "Come on, there's something that you need to see." he turned to leave and Rebekah reluctantly followed him.

* * *

Tyler lifted Dwayne's dead body up off the floor and dragged him over to the other side of the room. "Don't get all judgy! Dwayne knew what he was getting into. He volunteered!"

"What?" Caroline frowned confused. What the hell did he volunteer for? She doubted it was to die.

"For you to kill him?" Hayley asked, eyes wide.

"Dwayne is a werewolf who died with your blood in his system. The same blood you share with your hybrid babies."

Caroline's eyes widened, thoughts swimming through her head all at once. Tyler believed the babies blood could be used to create hybrids. He hated that Klaus had turned him into a hybrid yet if he was right he just did the same thing. Tyler just turned Dwayne into a hybrid. Or at least into the transitioning process.

"You're trying to turn him into a hybrid!" Hayley realized catching on. "That's impossible!"

"I've been running with wolf packs all over the country. One of them was tight with a witch. She had nightmare visions about your babies and how Klaus could use their blood to make an army of hybrid slaves."

"I am _sick_ of these witches and their premonitions about the babies," Hayley exclaimed. They were just supposed to be a way to get what she wanted but things were just getting more complicated the longer she carried them. "They are just babies!"

But they weren't just babies, Caroline couldn't help but think. They were Klaus's and they would have enemies just like Tyler willing to punish them for their father's crimes.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Said Tyler with a dismissive look. "That's where Dwayne comes in. You see, he was happy to be the test case. If you haven't noticed, these people don't have much to live for! They'd _all_ welcome the chance to become the superior species. Trouble is, all hybrids are sired to Klaus. They follow his every move." He grabbed a knife from his bag and Caroline tensed, wishing the vervain was out of her system and that she didn't vervain ropes binding her so she could get Hayley out of there, protect the babies. She exhaled slowly when Tyler only set it on the table. "No way I let that happen."

"How can you be so sure Klaus knows what the baby's blood will do?" asked Hayley.

"What do you think? Klaus Mikaelson, killer of men, women, and puppies, all of a sudden wants to be a daddy?" Tyler scoffed. "Or he's got an ulterior motive."

"He does care about those babies." Caroline defended, she knew he wanted to be a better father than his own had been. No, Klaus was far from perfect but he at least wanted to take responsibility for his children.

"You're delusional," Tyler snapped at her. "He's got you so turned around that you can no longer see him for the _monster_ that he is."

"Monster?" Caroline glared at him. She knew Klaus could be evil, brutal and downright cruel but there was good in him as well and sometimes you had to accept both sides. The good and the bad. At least he didn't try to be something he wasn't. He knew exactly who he was. And still, while he could be evil to his core he didn't go around threatening unborn children. "Klaus isn't the one terrorizing a pregnant woman."

Tyler walked over to her and yanked her up. "What is wrong with you, Caroline!? How can you defend him after everything he has done?"

Caroline used all the strength she could and shoved him off her, It was made even more difficult by the vervain ropes binding her, still feeling weak from the vervain. She fell to the floor due to the ropes on her ankles. "Look at what you're doing."

Tyler stumbled back from her shoving at him and glared. "I'm proving a point. Hybrids can walk in the sun, their bite is lethal to vampires. You know that better than anyone. You've been bitten twice before. They'll take over New Orleans by the end of the week. And you know what's going to stop Klaus then? Nothing."

As if on cue with Tyler's prediction Dwayne awoke with a gasp, breathing harshly, shifting constantly as if he was erratic.

Tyle looked at Hayley. "You're gonna have to feed on her," he said speaking to Dwayne.

"What?" Hayley's eyes widened.

Tyler moved back to the table picking up the knife and walking toward Hayley.

"No!" Hayley protested.

Tyler ignored and cut across her neck with the blade, deep enough to make her bleed but not deep enough to be anything serious. Still, Hayley cried out. "Ahhhhh!"

"Do it," Tyler ordered Dwayne stepping back.

Dwayne walked over to Hayley and fed on her like he was told. Hayley cried out in pain but Dwayne ignored her.

While Tyler was distracted with Hayley and Dwayne, Caroline used her bound hands, turning in on herself and untangled the vervain ropes from her ankles ignoring her skin burning. Once her ankles were free, she tore at the ropes on her hands with her vampire fangs, fighting back the pain of the vervain, touching her gums and mouth until she was free of the vervain ropes completely.

Caroline fearing for the babies if they drained Hayley dry forced herself to her feet and sped at Dwayne but before she reached him, rough hands grabbed her and threw her back into the wall, she smack into it with a hard thud, feeling her head split open and a small trickle of blood sliding down her skin even as the wound healed.

Caroline groaned, rolling onto her back gasping for breath.

"Stay out of this, Caroline!" Tyler growled.

Finally, Dwayne pulled his mouth away from Hayley his lips wet with her blood and collapsed to the floor in pain.

Tyler pushed him outside, following him out leaving Caroline and Hayley in the shack.

Hayley saw the knife on the floor, reaching for it but her fingers didn't even graze it.

"Caroline, the knife, get the knife." Hayley urged.

Caroline forced herself to move, struggling back to her feet, she moved on unsteady feet grabbing up the knife and stumbled over to Hayley as Hayley grabbed a broken chair leg from the floor.

"Don't kill him." Caroline shook her head, sliding to the floor next to her.

"Which one? Because we need to kill them both if we're going to make it out of here, Caroline!" Hayley snapped

"Tyler did this. Not Dwayne." Caroline couldn't help but think the wolf hadn't truly known what he was doing. He was desperate to escape his circumstances and Tyler took advantage of that. She didn't believe Dwayne deserved to die.

She reached for Hayley's bound hands and started to cut through the zip ties with the knife.

* * *

"Look at me!" Tyler shouted as Dwayne convulsed just outside the shack. "Look at me!"

Slowly Dwayne started to calm down, his body going still.

"You're okay?!" Tyler shouted, tense. He had to be. He knew he was right about this.

Dwayne's eyes changed to those of a hybrid, his lips pulling into a smile. "I'm better than okay."

* * *

Josh was curled on the floor in the fetal position, screaming out in pain as Davina used her magic to wipe it of Klaus's compulsion.

Davina rolled her eyes, stopping. "I'm sorry, but it's just gonna get worse. Klaus' compulsion runs deep." She knelt down and helped him back into the chair. "You need to think of something else. Take your mind off it." she paused, thinking. "Do you like music?"

"What?" asked Josh, still panting heavily from the pain. "I can't think of music right now."

Davina sighed. "Why?"

"I dunno, maybe because you're giving me a Voodoo lobotomy!" Josh snapped.

Davina shrugged in agreement, his description not far off base. "Do you like jazz?"

Josh sighed in frustration, huffing out a breath.

"So, what then?" asked Davina, hoping to take his mind off the pain.

Josh sighed. "Club stuff." he saw Davina's look and tried to elaborate. "House, trance. You know, 'uhnse uhnse uhnse uhnse'?"

"I'm a witch, I'm not Amish! It's just, I'm only sixteen, I don't go to clubs." Davina told him.

"When I was sixteen, I'd been to, like, a hundred clubs," said Josh, pausing. "God, that was only four years ago. It feels like another life. All I wanted to do is meet boys. Things are so much more complicated. Now, all I want to do is meet boys, feed on people's blood, get one of those daylight rings so I don't burn in the sunlight." he shook his head, adding sarcastically. "All perfectly normal things."

Davina walked over to her table as she listened to Josh talk, she ran her hands along Tim's violin on the table, the same one Elijah had fixed. "I like the classics. Puccini, Bach, Mozart. I took piano, not that it matters, while I'm stuck here."

"Why not?" asked Josh.

"Marcel's worried that someone could hear. It's not his fault, he just wants to keep me safe," answered Davina.

Josh face scrunched up in confusion. "Safe from what?"

"Basically, a coven of psycho witches wants to sacrifice me in a blood ritual." She answered, not sugar coating it.

Josh laughed, dryly not expecting that. "Oh! Wow, okay, uhhh...I'm sorry?"

"Don't be. I'm going to destroy them all. And once they're gone, everything will go back to normal. I'll have my old life back!" she smiled.

Josh smiled sadly at her. She made it sound simple, easy, he had a feeling it would be more complicated than that.

* * *

Tyler walked back into the shack, his eyes narrowing on Caroline, noticing she was now next to Hayley.

"If you think you can protect her by sticking closer to her you're wrong," Tyler sneered. "The vervain working through your system has you weakened and even without it your no match for a hybrid."

Caroline scowled up at him from where she slumped against, the wall, her body sluggish. "Shut up," she said through clenched teeth.

"It worked, didn't it?" asked Hayley. "He's a hybrid."

"If Klaus gets ahold of you, if he gets those kids-he wins," Tyler stated. He couldn't let that happen.

"Then help me hide the babies from him!" Hayley exclaimed.

"What?!" Caroline glared at Hayley. "You can't cut Klaus out of their lives. They're just as much his kids as they are yours!"

Tyler frowned, his eyes scanning the floor. "Where's my knife?" his eyes snapped to Caroline. "Give it to me!"

"No." Caroline's voice hardened.

"I'm not messing around, Caroline. I don't want to hurt you but I will do what I have to," he warned, stalking towards her.

Caroline tensed as he yanked her up, twisting the knife from her grasp, and throwing her into the wall head first, her movements to weak, too slow, too sluggish to put up much of a fight.

Hayley winced when Caroline hit the ground with a hard thud, she turned her gaze to Tyler. "Help me run!" she exclaimed, hoping she could reach some rational part of him.

"He'll find you, he'll take your kids away, and he'll make more hybrid monsters." Tyler shook his head, his hand tightening around the knife as he took a step closer to him. "Slaves who do everything he says."

Hayley's eyes widened, terrified of what he was going to do. "Tyler, whatever you're thinking of doing, there has to be another way. You're not like this!"

Caroline gritted her teeth using the wall to hold her weight as she got back to her feet, using Tyler's distraction to her advantage.

Tyler shook his head drawing closer to Hayley and her hand tightened around the broken chair leg and when he was close enough she stabbed him in the stomach with it.

Tyler cried out in pain stumbling back a step, he clenched his jaw his hand wrapping around the makeshift stake and pulled it out. "That was stupid!"

Caroline pushed off the wall toward him but her steps falter and she crashed to her legs, everything spinning. _Fuck_ , how much vervain did he give her?

Tyler started toward Hayley again.

"Get away from her!" Dwayne stormed into the shack.

"What do you care?" Tyler looked at him, his brow furrowing.

"I said get away!" Dwayne growled, edging closer to Hayley.

"You got what you wanted, now get lost!" Tyler snapped at him.

Hayley looked Dwayne, consideringly, she just needed an opportunity to run, Caroline had cut her free but she had kept up the act of being tied up, however, if Tyler was right then Dwayne would have no choice but to do as she said and he could be the opportunity she needed to get away. "Dwayne, he's gonna kill me!" She called out desperately. "And he's gonna kill you, too, he said that hybrids are too dangerous to live! You _need_ to stop him!"

"SHUT UP!" Tyler turned on her shouting

Caroline tried to focus, tried to fight against the effects of the vervain in her system.

Dwayne moved behind Tyler, grabbing him and threw him across the room.

Tyler landed on the floor but he quickly pushed back to his feet. Dwayne rushed him, tackling him.

Tyler dropped the knife and it slid across the floor next to Caroline, she reached for it immediately. "Get out of here!" she yelled to Hayley.

Hayley hesitated briefly, staring at Caroline. If she left her here alone with Tyler and Dwayne there was a chance to die. A dark part of her even wished for it. If Caroline was gone no one would ever have to know the truth.

"Hayley, Go! _Now_!" Caroline snapped.

Hayley bolted out the door with no more hesitation and didn't look back.

Caroline forced herself back to her feet she turned to see Tyler was now getting the upper hand on Dwayne, she rushed forward tackling Tyler to the floor. "Go," she snapped at Dwayne. "Protect Hayley!"

Tyler growled, his hand wrapping around her throat he rolled them, pinning her to the floor. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He growled. "I'm doing the world a favor."

"I'm not going to let you harmed those kids!" she tightened her hand around the blade.

Tyler gasped as his own knife pierced his chest seconds later just to the left of his heart and he stumbled back

Caroline scrambled back to her feet.

"I told you not to make me do something that both of us would regret. You should have listened." He yanked her forward, sinking his teeth into her neck.

Caroline cried out, a burning fire spreading through her.

* * *

Hayley ran as fast as she could through the woods, she stopped, pressing her back behind a tree, trying to catch her breath, she heard someone approaching. She braced herself, her muscles coiling for a fight and turned to attack, swinging her fist but it was just Elijah. He held her hand steady to protect himself.

"Forgive me! I thought you were in danger, it appears I was mistaken." he smiled.

Hayley sighed in relief and dived into Elijah's arms. Elijah wrapped her in his embrace as she clung to him.

Hayley pulled out of his arms a moment later. "You will not believe the crap day I'm having."

"Where's Caroline? Klaus is out there looking for her?" Elijah inquired,

A look of guilt crossed her face. "She helped me escape. She's still out there."

"Klaus will find her. C'mon, I'll take you home." Elijah turned to leave but Hayley stopped him with a hand on her arm.

"Elijah, there's something you need to know about the babies."

* * *

Caroline's struggled to pull away from Tyler when suddenly he was being ripped from her and she collapsed to the floor, and Tyler was thrown out the door. Caroline sighed in relief when she saw Klaus.

Klaus looked down at her, concern etched across her features.

Caroline held a hand up to stop him when he took a step toward her. "Don't let him get to Hayley. He wants to kill the babies."

Still, Klaus hesitated. His priority was her.

"Go, I'll be fine." Caroline urged him.

With a growl, Klaus headed out but Tyler was gone with a roll of his eyes and sighed in frustration. He sped away following the stench of Tyler Lockwood.

* * *

Tyler ran through the forest searching for Hayley. Counting on the fact that Klaus would be too concerned with helping Caroline to care about anything else.

"HAYLEY!" Tyler shouted. "Don't make this harder than it has to be! Give up now...I'll end it quick."

Klaus caught up with him. Grabbing him by the shoulder and tossing him into a tree. "Quite an offer! Though, not one I'll be extending to you."

Tyler grunted, pushing back to feet and bracing himself to take on the object of his hatred. "Klaus."

"Threatening a pregnant girl in order to exact revenge against me. I never expected you to sink so low!" he'd stalked toward Tyler.

Tyler ducked away from Klaus putting more distance between them. "Used to hang out with you, I guess something must have rubbed off."

"And Caroline? What's your pathetic excuse for bringing her into this?" Klaus demanded.

"Collateral damage." Tyler sneered. "But you know all about that, don't you? She's here in New Orleans because of you? Under some witch's threat because of your twisted obsession with her. She would be better off having never met you. You are the worst thing to ever happen to her!"

Klaus' face went cold and he ran at Tyler tossing him into a tree, the bark splintering with the impact.

"Says the boy who just tore into her! Did it feel good hurting her?!" he demanded. "It's going to be the last time you ever lay a hand on Caroline."

Tyler glared as he quickly got back to his feet and ran.

Klaus smirked, he was going to make this hurt. But he had to make this quick. He needed to heal Caroline. Perhaps he would just snap Tyler's neck, so he could kill him later when he could truly devote his time to punishing him and enjoy every moment of his suffering.

Klaus smiled to himself before giving chase to the coward.

* * *

Marcel led Rebekah into the Garden, gesturing at a vampire who stood guard to leave them alone.

Rebekah looked around in confusion and mild horror. "What is this place?"

Marcel gestured all around them. "This is the Garden. It's where I punish vampires who break my rules." he removed a brick in a stoned up wall and pulled out a rolled up parchment from the hole in the wall he created. "But, a long time ago, it used to be something else." he spread out the parchment revealing it to be blueprints, showing them to Rebekah. "Go on, tell me what you see."

"Two stories, Greek columns, wrap-around porch. High ceilings, transem windows. It's lovely." Rebekah responded but she still didn't understand why he was showing this to her. "So what?"

"So, I designed it for you," Marcel told her. "It was going to be ours."

Rebekah looked at him, stunned. "That, this...was supposed to be our happily-ever-after?"

"Yours, and mine." Marcel rolled the blueprints back up, putting them away. "Except you flew the coop with Klaus. I already built the foundation for the place. I halted constructions after you took off. The plan was to wait for you to return. You never did, so, now it's where I bury the people who betray me."

"You could have come after me!" Rebekah exclaimed. If he cared about her enough to plan their future together he should have come after her.

"You were with Klaus! I didn't know where, I didn't know if you still wanted to be with me! All you had to do was come home!" Marcel argued passionately. He had loved her and she just disappeared from his life.

"It was more complicated than that. Not long after we left here, he put a dagger in my heart and stuck me in a box for _ninety years_. He stole a century from me like it was nothing!" Rebekah said angrily.

"That's what he does, Rebekah!" Marcel said. Wondering what was it going to take for her to realize that. "Klaus will never be happy. He'll be damned if he lets anyone get something that _he_ can't have!"

"I know! I've been dancing to this song for a thousand years!" Rebekah exclaimed, but things were different now. Caroline was here and she didn't think there was anything he wanted more than Caroline's affection, her acceptance, her love. Maybe if he had that he would finally let his family be happy.

"Starting right now, you have a choice, between the brother who takes away your happiness whenever he feels like it, and the man who wants to give you anything you ever wanted." Marcel gave her his ultimatum, he wouldn't be second to Klaus. She either chose him or she chose her brother.

Rebekah stared at him for a long moment, Marcel matched her gaze until finally, Rebekah made her decision. She wanted to be in control of her own immortal life. "He will kill you in front of my eyes out of spite."

Marcel shook his head, "Not if we get rid of him, first."

Rebekah looked at him like he lost his mind, shocked by what he was proposing. Getting rid of Klaus would be no easy feat and there would be no turning back from this. But could she do it? Could she turn on her own brother for Marcel?

* * *

Hayley was sitting against a tree as she told Elijah what she had learned from Tyler but trailed off when she heard rapidly approaching footsteps.

Elijah and she both tensed when a large figure appeared, Elijah slammed him into a tree drawing his hand back to put it through his chest.

"Elijah, wait, that's the hybrid that was just created." Hayley stopped him, quickly standing up.

Elijah released him taking a step back, coming to stand beside Hayley protectively.

Dwayne, however, only had eyes for Hayley. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Hayley said. "Why did you come after me?"

"To keep you safe," Dwayne answered instantly. "I just want to keep you safe."

"See," Hayley turned to Elijah. "He doesn't know me. He has no reason to care about me other than the fact that he's sired to the babies."

Elijah started to pace anxiously as he listened and considered that she could be right.

"Klaus must have known that's the only explanation!" Hayley insisted. "He could care less about the babies, he just wants them to be born so he can use them to make more sired hybrids."

She looked at Elijah, sharing a look with him before Elijah looked away, visibly troubled by what Hayley had told him.

"Although...the way that Dwayne is acting…" she waved a hand at the hybrid in question hovering close to her protectively. "It was more like he was sired to me."

Elijah looked at her, thinking of the implications that entailed. "I should take you home."

"Are you serious? Home to what?" Hayley demanded. If Klaus wanted to use the babies to make hybrids she couldn't do it. Not while she was carrying them.

"Look, regardless of my brother's intentions, mine remains the same. I said that I would protect you, even, if need be, from Klaus himself." Elijah replied, hoping to assure her that as long as she had him she would be safe.

"I can take care of myself. I've done it for a long time." she got up, walking away and Dwayne immediately followed her.

Elijah watched Hayley go for a moment before trailing after her.

* * *

Klaus walked the length of the werewolf encampments, checking random tents in search of Tyler. "Is this your idea of revenge, Tyler? A grueling game of hide-and-seek?"

Suddenly there was a change in the breeze and a stake was stabbed into his chest.

Klaus groaned in pain, whirling around and backhanding Tyler away like he was nothing but a fly. Klaus pulled the stake from his chest and threw it, lodging it in Tyler's shoulder just an inch above his heart the same place Caroline had stabbed him. He ran forward driving the stake further in and twisting it viciously.

Tyler cried out in pain, trying to pry his hand off the stake.

"Did you enjoy hurting her?!" Klaus demanded.

Tyler glared at him, face scrunched up in pain. "Which one? Hayley who you knocked up or Caroline who you keep on the side?"

Klaus slammed his other hand into Tyler's abdomen, tearing through flesh, ripping at his intestines from the inside.

Tyler choked on the pain, mouth open on a muted cry.

"Don't insult Caroline. I would never treat her with such disrespect. She deserves more." Klaus growled. "She deserves better than you."

"And you think you deserve her?" Tyler groaned through the pain.

"No, but I would happily spend the rest of eternity trying to be exactly what she needs." Klaus ripped his hand from Tyler's stomach and instead wrapped his bloody hand around his throat. "Look at you. You've grown bloodthirsty. Perhaps it's best your mother didn't live to see you like this," he taunted cruelly, laughing.

Tyler kicked out at him as hard as he could causing Klaus to lose his grip on his neck and stumble back.

Tyler ripped the stake from his chest and ran at Klaus intending to drive it through his heart. Klaus grabbed him and twisted him around till his back was to him, locking his arm hand around him in a lock and used the other to twist Tyler's arm, making him drive the stake into his own chest.

Tyler moaned in pain, weakening in Klaus's grip.

"It's sad, really." Klaus hissed in his ear. "I thought I made you better. Turns out you're quite the disappointment."

Tyler gritted his teeth and reeled back, slamming the back of his skull into Klaus's.

Klaus lost his grip and Tyler put some distance between them, he pulled the stake from his chest and tossed it aside. "I guess I'm another one of your failures. Like how you _failed_ at making hybrids, how you failed your family!" he took a step forward, smirking. "Now it looks like you're going to fail your own kids! What is _Caroline_ going to think of you then?!"

Klaus grabbed Tyler by the throat and pushed him against the tree behind him. "And thus ends your tedious little life. At least it was brief!" he jammed his hand into Tyler's chest, his hand wrapping around Tyler's heart like a vice and squeezing.

Tyler shouted in agony. "Do it! You're never gonna break me! The only thing you can do is kill me, so go on! Go on, get it over with!"

Klaus chuckled darkly, seeing Tyler's desperation. "Ahhh, you want me to end your suffering, don't you, hmm? I did break you! I took everything from you, and now you're begging me to sweep away the shards of your shattered little life." he smirked cruelly.

And Tyler thought this was it, this was the moment Klaus would kill him but to his surprise, Klaus released his grip on his heart and removed his hand from his chest, and wrapped it around throat instead choking him. "Death offers more peace than you deserve. It's better to let you live. And each morning, you will wake knowing your wretched existence continues only by my will. That the girl you love prefers me over you, the man who killed your mother and made you who you are today." he locked eyes with Tyler, allowing his compulsion to take effect. "Now go, and live the rest of your days knowing that you are _nothing_ to me. You are _nothing_ to _Caroline_. You are _nothing_ to _anyone_." Klaus released him, vamping away, leaving Tyler in agony.

* * *

"Do you know how many fools have tried to vanquish my brother?" Rebekah asked Marcel her tone grave. "If you stand against him, he will kill you, and it will be awful, and bloody, and I will not stand around and watch."

Marcel stopped her when she turned to leave. "You forget, I have a secret weapon. Davina, the most powerful witch in the last couple centuries! What if she can find a way to kill him?"

"You don't know, do you?" asked Rebekah, Marcel didn't know what happened when you kill an original. "You can't kill Klaus! Not without dying yourself. We learned it from the deaths of my brothers Kol and Finn, if an Original dies, every vampire ever made from their line dies with them. Even if you kill Klaus, he'll still win! It's been that way for a thousand years, that's his trick. He _always_ wins."

"There's another way," said Marcel, not ready to give up.

"What would that be?" asked Rebekah doubtful but willing to listen.

"We bury him, down here, forever," Marcel said, after all, that was what the Garden was used for.

"Are you mad? This little chamber of horrors may work for your riff-raff, but do you really think it will hold my brother?" Rebekah demanded.

"Isn't it worth the risk?" Marcel asked imploringly. "You know I'm right! Klaus will never stop trying to control you!"

"And I'm supposed to believe that, after a century, suddenly you're willing to risk death at his hands to be with me?" Rebekah asked full of doubt, not trusting his intentions completely.

"I want to defend my home. I wanna be free." Marcel stated, catching her gaze, wanting her to see that this was not him manipulating her. This was him being honest about what he wanted. "And if that means I get to be with you, all the more reason to bury him. Now, you tell me; what do you want?"

Rebekah stared at him but said nothing, unsure of how to answer him. She knew what she wanted but the harder question was could she deal with the consequences?

LINEBREAK

Caroline breathed heavily as she dragged herself to leaned against the wall. She hoped Hayley had gotten away. That the babies were fine.

She frowned thinking about what Klaus might do to Tyler. She knew Klaus hated Tyler, the only reason why he had shown him any mercy was because she asked him to.

She still couldn't believe Tyler had attacked her, bit her to hurt her. How had he fallen so far to hurt someone he used to love? To try to kill two innocent lives, babies that had yet to even be born."

A part of her, a darker part that she pushed down, that she hated wanted Tyler to pay for attacking her but even more so for going after innocent children who had no say over who their father was.

She coughed feeling the wolf toxin spreading through her system, combined that with the large amount of vervain through her system, it was a miracle she was still conscious but it was only a matter of time before she became delirious with fever.

" _Caroline_!" She felt Klaus before she saw him, he crouched at her side pulling her into him. "You're going to be alright, Love."

"Hayley, you have to find Hayley." Caroline shook her head. "The babies are in danger. Tyler's trying to kill them."

"I took care of him," Klaus said, pushing her hair back to look at the wound.

Caroline tried to pull back to look at him. "Did you kill him?"

"No. I let him live. It's more than he deserves." Klaus did not mention how he wanted him to suffer. Wanted Tyler to live in true misery.

Caroline nodded. "He made a hybrid. He's sired to Hayley. He followed af-" she cut off on a harsh cough, her breaths rattling around in her chest.

Klaus has been surprised by what she told him but he could care less about that when she had poison circulating through her. "Shh. You can tell me everything later." he wrapped one arm around her and lifted the other to his mouth, tearing into his wrist, ripping it open. "Right now I _need_ you to drink."

Caroline accepted his wrist without question, her lips latching onto his wrist and drinking deeply of his blood. Her eyes slid closed at the feel of his fingers combing through her hair as he pulled her impossibly close, murmuring assurances into her ear.

After several moments she pulled her mouth from his wrist and let his hand drop. "Thanks."

"C'mon, love, let's get you up." Klaus helped her back to her feet, frowning when he noticed she was unsteady.

"Tyler vervained me. I'm pretty sure it was a large dose." Caroline stated.

Klaus scowled. "I should have tortured him before letting him go."

"I'll be fine," Caroline said. "I just need to let it work its way through my system."

"C'mon, Love, I got you." he wrapped an arm around her waist and slip the other beneath her legs, lifting her into his arms.

Caroline gasped in surprise, fisting her hands in his jacket as he started to move.

Klaus stepped out of the shack to see Elijah, Hayley, and Dwayne emerge from the trees.

"There you are!" Klaus knelt down and rested Caroline on the steps, she leaned against it.

Caroline was relieved to see that Hayley was unharmed.

"I see you've found our wandering stray," Klaus said to his brother, his eyes slid to Dwayne, his hybrid eyes were staring back at him. "And you must be the newly turned hybrid Caroline mentioned." his eyes settled on Hayley. "Perhaps you could shed some light on the situation."

"His name's Dwayne," Hayley said.

"I didn't ask his name." Klaus rolled his eyes. How is it possible for him to be a hybrid? I didn't sire him."

Hayley stomped toward him all righteous fury. "As if you didn't know!"

Elijah pulled Hayley back and stepped in front of her as if he was protecting her.

"Ahhh, well, aren't you two fast friends?" Klaus accused. "Oh, come on, then. What kind of horrible accusation have you conspired to levy against me?"

"Tyler Lockwood brought Hayley here to test a theory," Elijah said and Klaus nodded at him to continue. "That the blood of her children could be used to sire hybrids. He claims that you knew that. Furthermore, that you intended to use this knowledge to build an army."

Klaus was instantly hurt and angry, he glanced at Caroline hoping he wouldn't see the same look in her eyes that was in Hayley and Elijah's and to his relief he only saw concern. He turned back to Elijah and Hayley. "And, of course, you assume it's true. I mean, why else would I show interest in my own flesh and blood? A heartbroken little crybaby points his finger at me, and my own brother falls in line, eager to believe it! How quickly you believe the worst, especially when it comes from her." he waved a hand at Hayley, ranting.

"Oh, spare me your indignation. When have you ever demonstrated any kind of concern towards Hayley or her children, beyond your own selfish pursuits?" Elijah demanded. "You care more about Miss Forbes then you do for the mother of your children. And what was it you once said to me?" he changed his voice mockingly. " _Every king needs an heir!_ "

Caroline scoffed as she pushed herself to her feet and Klaus immediately moved to help her, wrapping an arm around her waist, only releasing her once he knew she was steady on her feet. "You don't know what you're talking about." Caroline had talked to Klaus and while it wasn't easy for him to talk about his impending fatherhood. He was determined to be better than his own father. To not make the same mistakes that Mikael did with him.

It was moments like this when Caroline believed she knew him better than his own family did. "Klaus cares about his children just because he doesn't go around declaring it doesn't mean it's not true."

"It's okay, sweetheart." Klaus placed his hand on her shoulder in a show of gratitude, thankful for her not thinking the worst of him or believing it.

Klaus dropped his hand from her shoulder and focused back on his brother. "My big brother, so, you doubt my intentions? Well, I can't say I'm surprised, standing next to the noble Elijah, how can I be anything but the lesser brother? A liar, a manipulator, a _bastard_." he sneered.

Caroline frowned as Klaus and Elijah stared each other down. The way Klaus spoke about himself reminded her of how she was about her own insecurities. She and Klaus weren't so different after all in more ways than she had first thought.

The idea of Elijah being better than him was laughable. She couldn't stand Klaus's brother. She disliked just being around him.

However, Elijah looking to be reconsidering that maybe he was wrong and his brother had no ulterior motive when it came to the lives of his unborn son and daughter.

"That's all I am to you, isn't it?" demanded Klaus. "And Rebekah. And, judging by the way Hayley hangs on your every word, it's clear she feels the same way!" he glared bitterly and spat. "No doubt my children will as well."

Elijah expression softened. "Brother," he began more kindly. "if-"

"You've said all that needs to be said, _Brother._ " Klaus interrupted, taking a few steps back and held his arms out in defeat. "I'll play the role I've been given." Klaus turned away for just a second before flashing over to Elijah and sinking his fangs into his brother's neck savagely.

Caroline's eyes widened but she felt no sympathy for Elijah, a part of her, a darker part thought he deserved it.

Hayley screamed in horror and rushed to Elijah's side where he had fallen to the ground.

Klaus wiped Elijah's blood from his mouth with his hand. "You two enjoy each other's company. You'll have much to bond over, once the hallucinations and dementia set in. Consider that bite to be my parting gift to you both."

Caroline stepped off the porch of the shack and he was there instantly. "C'mon, Love." He scooped her up back in his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he started walking away, leaving Elijah and Hayley to fend for themselves in the swamp of the Bayou.

* * *

Josh was sprawled out on Davina's attic floor, sweat coating his skin that was pale and sickly looking after being subjected to Davina's back all day. He panted, groaning as he pushed himself onto his elbows.

Davina knelt next to him with a bright smile. "That's it. You're free!"

Josh smiled, relieved. "You're right! I can feel it." Davina giggled delightedly. "Before, I was always thinking about what Klaus would want me to do," said Josh, his smile growing. "Now, I'm like, 'Screw that guy!'" he laughed in happiness overjoyed to be free of Klaus's mind control. "Klaus Mikaelson can suck it!"

Davina frowned and Josh's laughter died down, noticing. "What, what's that look for?"

"Marcel wants me to make you forget about me," Davina said with an undertone of sadness.

"Oh, you don't have to do that! I, like, owe you my life!" Josh said, feeling indebted to her. She had nothing to fear from him. When Davina smiled weakly at him, he continued. "I'll keep your secret! Besides, it's kind of nice, just talking to someone normal again."

"You think I'm normal?" asked Davina. "I'm a sixteen-year-old witch, living in an attic like some kind of freak." She was so far from normal it wasn't even funny.

"I'm a gay club kid who died and came back as a vampire. Yeah, normal's kind of relative, you know?" Josh countered causing them both to laugh. Josh extended his pinky to her. "Here, pinky swear on it."

Davina looked at him with a look of appreciation, a smile tugging at her lips.

* * *

Hayley and Elijah looked around the abandoned shack, having made their way inside after Klaus and Caroline left.

Hayley had found some old photos and shuffled through them, ignoring Dwayne hovering close to her as if he thought Elijah could be a threat to her.

"You don't have to help." Hayley told Elijah I can dig through the werewolf antique show on my own." she looked at the newly made hybrid. "Or get Dwayne to help. Besides," she looked at his neck wound in concern. "shouldn't you put some kind of ointment, or something, on that?"

"The bite won't kill me," Elijah assured her. "Like Niklaus himself, it's more than a nuisance than anything."

"Good, 'cause I'm eventually going to need a ride home." she smiled at him. "And thanks, by the way, for staying out here. You didn't have to."

"I know," said Elijah. "But, you said the people of this village are the only family you have left. I can relate."

"You're thinking about Klaus," said Hayley knowingly.

Elijah sighed. "Perhaps I was too willing to condemn him. In the thousand years that we have been together, my brother has committed numerous unspeakable acts. But, then again, so has Rebekah. So have I."

"So did I, the last time I was in Cabo," Hayley admitted and Elijah looked at her, confused. "We've all done bad things." But Cabo didn't even come close to the bad things she has done. She betrayed Tyler, she sacrificed 12 hybrids, she had stolen Caroline's unborn children before the blonde even knew of their existence, all in the name of finding her family, her pack.

"It's just, most people die before the list gets embarrassing. But, don't for a second compare yourself to Klaus." Hayley told him, there was no way Elijah was anything like Klaus and she didn't want to hear him implying that he was.

Elijah locked eyes with her, her opinion mattering to him on a level he wasn't prepared for, the stare between them was intense but after a long moment, they both looked away, awkwardness settling around them.

"It's like a freaking hot box in here, I'm gonna get some air," said Hayley, needing a moment to escape what she was feeling for Elijah. She moved to walked out onto the porch but heard Dwayne following her, she turned back around. "Stay here," she told him firmly. "Don't follow me."

Dwayne only nodded, rooted to the spot and watched as she turned back around walking out onto the porch.

Hayley stepped outside onto the porch and a moment later she noticed a Bible laying on the corner of the porch. She picked it up, flipping through the pages.

"Someone left this here," said Hayley when Elijah joined her outside a moment later.

"What is it?" asked Elijah, coming to stand beside her.

"A Bible, with a family history that goes back generations." Answered Hayley. Elijah peered over the Bible pages as she did. There were a lot of names and birthdates, the last entry being 'Andrea Labonair, 6 June 1991'.

Elijah's brow furrowed questioningly. "What are these names? Who is Andrea?"

"I think I am…" Hayley said with a look of shock. "That's the day that I was born."

* * *

Klaus stared out the window at the plantation grounds, drinking a tumbler of scotch when he heard someone enter the living room, he didn't need to turn around to know it was his sister. "I thought you were leaving us."

"We both know this family can barely function without me. Where are Caroline, Elijah, and Hayley?"

"Caroline is talking her mother out of coming to New Orleans to make sure her daughter is in one piece and as for our brother and Hayley," his eyes darkened with anger. "I left them in the Bayou."

"Why?" asked Rebekah, confused, taking a seat on the couch.

"Elijah and I had a bit of a row" he gave a forced chuckle. "Hayley's conspired to turn him against me. You know our brother was never one to resist a pretty face! So, one thing led to another, and I bit him, left them both stranded in the swamp." Klaus was unapologetic. If Hayley wasn't pregnant with his children Elijah wouldn't have been the only one to feel his wrath.

"Daggering, biting, deserting," Rebekah said, becoming livid with his excuses for his actions. "Does your wickedness ever end?"

"My "wickedness" is self-preservation! And I wouldn't have to go to such lengths were I not presented on all sides with ignorance and treachery!" Klaus snapped. Caroline was about the only person he could trust. What did that same about his own flesh and blood? The thought had him feeling like the walls were closing in on him. "Now that Elijah's abandoned me, I'll be needing you in my plot against Marcel."

Rebekah glared at him resentfully. She wasn't a tool to be used whenever it benefitted him

"Don't expect to be leaving town anytime soon," Klaus told her while pouring himself another drink.

"Why should I help you, after what you did to Elijah?" Rebekah demanded.

"You're my family. Besides, who better to spy on Marcel than the girl he so clearly loves?" Klaus took a seat on the coffee table in front of Rebekah. "You can tell me all his secrets, like how did he find us here? Huh, any idea about that, little sister?"

"How should I know why Marcel does what he does?" asked Rebekah, refusing to confirm his accusations.

"You think I don't know about your engineered run-ins all over the Quarter? I know you've had private chats with him!" Klaus said with a look of accusation. "Just tell me what secrets he's confided to you. Is he plotting against me?"

Rebekah glared, leaning forward. "My poor brother, so paranoid. Marcel knows nothing! He's not plotting against you, he simply thinks you're in a quarrel in need of making up."

Klaus sighed. "Perhaps we will. After all," he pointed at her, leaning in toward Rebekah aggressively. "You know I'm capable of forgiving those who disappoint me! As soon as they've seen the error of their ways, and suffered for them. You'd do well to remember that." He stood up, walking past her.

"You never let me forget," Rebekah muttered under her breath as he left the room.

* * *

"I'm fine, I promise," Caroline assured her mom, she looked up at the sound of footsteps and saw Klaus leaning against her open doorway. "Look, I have to go but I miss you, too, mom." Caroline quickly said goodbye and Klaus stepped further into the room.

"Did you manage to talk your mother into staying in Mystic Falls?" he asked, leaning against her dresser.

"Just barely." Caroline tossed her phone on the bed and stood up, her hair was still damp from her shower, she had changed from her blood torn clothes into a pair of blue jeans and a forest green tank top. "She's convinced New Orleans is more dangerous than Mystic Falls."

"She's not entirely wrong," Klaus said pushing off her dresser, closing the distance between them and sweeping her hair aside, his thumb brushed against the healed skin of where Tyler had bitten her.

"Maybe but you're here with me." Caroline countered and Klaus' eyes shot up to hers in surprise. "I want you to know I believe you have the best intentions for your children."

Klaus gave a bitter smile. "You're about the only one." However, it meant a lot to him that she didn't think so low of him.

Caroline took a step closer to him. "Thank you for coming for me."

Klaus's hand on her neck slid down her arm to her hand, wrapping his fingers around it. "I will always come for you."

Caroline nodded, her lips pulling into a slow smile. "Yeah, I'm starting to get that." she murmured, pulling her hand from his she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Klaus was surprised by the feel of the length of her body pressed against his as she hugged him. It was her lips, pressing against his neck that had him reacting, his arms wrapping around her, holding her tightly against him, he buried his face in her neck, breathing her in.

Klaus was reluctant to let her go when she pulled back, he stared into her blue eyes, wanting to pull her back into him to never lose the feeling of having her in his arms.

Caroline stared back at him, his eyes spoke to her, full of longing and want. She leaned in, pressing her lips against his before she could talk herself out of it.

She didn't want to think about what her friends would think of this. She didn't want to care about what they would think about her.

She justed wanted to act on what she felt for once without worrying about someone passing judgment on her.

Klaus' eyes widened at the press of her lips against his. It was unexpected no matter how much he had been craving it. He didn't want to but he pulled away from her. "What are you doing?"

Caroline frowned, her brow furrowing. "I thought that was obvious."

Klaus dropped his hands from her, clenching them into a fist to keep himself from reaching for her. "I don't want you to kiss me just cause you're thankful I healed you."

"That's not why I kiss you." Caroline shook her head. "I mean, of course, I'm grateful you healed me but I kissed you because I wanted to."

Klaus looked doubtful. He wanted to believe her but his day had been crappy at best and he hadn't expected this.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Caroline asked, looking at him searchingly.

"Because you fought this connection between us at every turn." he challenged. "What change?"

"Because I'm tired of doing what is expected of me. I'm tired of denying what I feel and for once I just want to do what I want." Caroline stated.

"And what do you _want,_ Caroline?" Klaus stepped forward, telling himself to let her make the move, he didn't want her to feel like she made a mistake if he moved first.

Caroline's arm lifted, curling around his neck, pulling him closer. " _You_." she pressed her mouth to his, capturing his lips.

The feel of her lips against his, had Klaus surging forward one hand wrapping around her back the other tangling in the wet strands of her hair.

Caroline felt his lips moving against hers eagerly, his arms surrounding her and she slid the hand that wasn't curled around his neck, up his arm, gripping it tightly, arching up into him.

Kissing him felt better than she remembered. It felt right in a way she couldn't explain. When his tongue slid across her bottom lip, seeking entrance into her mouth, she opened to him, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

She forgot all the reasons she shouldn't be kissing him and just let herself be in the moment and feel what she wanted. The feel of being in Klaus's arm, the feel of his mouth slanting over hers, kissing her like there was no one else he rather be with.

It felt right in a way that both scared her and excited her. She didn't question whether she would let it happen again with her growing feelings and the way he made her feel, she knew she would want for it to happen again. Damn what everyone else might think about it.

Because at the moment the only opinion that mattered was theirs. Her's and Klaus's.

She knew he wanted her and she was finally letting herself admit that she wanted him too. She wanted to explore whatever it was she felt for him while she was in New Orleans for however long she was there.

Klaus' arm tightened around her, pressing her completely against him and she gasped into his mouth, giving into her want and slid her hand from his arm to his hair, running her fingers through his curls, giving into her feelings, her want for him and letting his kiss consume her.

Klaus' arm slid from her hair, down her body and curled around her thigh, hiking her up his body as he turned, setting her on her dresser.

Caroline wrapped her legs around him, as he pulled his mouth from hers, his lips trailing down her neck, sucking wet open-mouthed kisses into her skin.

Caroline moaned, arching her hips against him, her head falling back at the feel of his mouth on her neck, trusting him completely.

Klaus groaned, his hands gripping her hips and tugging her to the edge as he leaned her further back on the dresser.

The sound of her phone ringing broke through the haze of lust and passion they found themselves being consumed by.

Caroline put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back and he groaned in response as she jumped down from her dresser and grabbed her phone from the bed, checking her ID. She saw Stefan's name flashing across her screen.

"It's Stefan. My mother probably called him because she's worried." she looked at him apologetically.

"Right," said Klaus, feeling a flash of disappointment for being pushed aside because Stefan decided to call. A part of him was afraid she would regret it.

Caroline watched Klaus turn to leave with a dejected look. "Hey," she grabbed his hand, stepping close to him. "What just happened? I don't regret it."

"No?" he asked.

"No." she leaned forward pressing her mouth to his for a kiss, her lips moving slowly over his, only pulling back when she felt him sigh against her like he was letting his guard down. "I should have done that sooner."

Klaus' lips pulled into a slow grin as Caroline's phone continued to ring.

* * *

"You wanna make a deal with me, you gotta offer me something. I already know about Hayley, the werewolf girl and Caroline the cute little blonde. What else you got?" Marcel asked, sitting at a table, his vampire guards standing nearby.

"What if I told you that werewolf girl is carrying Klaus' children? Twins to be exact." Tyler sat across from him, eyes hard and calculating.

Marcel leaned in, interested wanting to hear more.

"And, if those babies are born, it'll mean the end of the vampire species."

Marcel nodded at him,

"Oh and the cute little blonde as you call her," Tyler added, jaw clenching. "If you really want to hurt Klaus then you go after her. You get to him through _Caroline_."

* * *

 **A/N: Reviews are encouraged!**

 **Unfortunately, I will not be updating for a while. Several months at least. Could be longer.**

 **My mother is having surgery this week coming up and she's gonna need care around the clock and with my job, and taking care of her and RL, I just won't have the time to write or work on any of the stories I have going.**

 **I apologize sincerely but I will not be writing and all my stories are going on hiatus.**

 **However, I will get back to them. Eventually.**

 **Again, I just want to apologize for the long wait ahead.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the Klaroline kiss at least:):):)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: It's been months since I've written anything Klaroline but I'm back and I hope this chapter doesn't suck.**

 **I know most of you want Caroline and Klaus to learn the truth and they will but not for another couple of chapters. Also, I hope we have some Katherine fans.**

 **Thank you to everyone for their well wishes for my mother. She's doing a lot better.**

 **Lastly, I hope you enjoy the chapter. I hope no one is too OOC.**

* * *

Rebekah sat in confessional. It was ironic considering who and what she was. "I should never have come back here. This is the town where I fell in love - and where love failed us. I assume you know who I'm talking about?"

"You should know Marcel and I are not on the best of terms right now."' Father Kieran informed her.

"But you are an active priest, are you not?" asked Rebekah. "Ready and able to hear my confession?"

"Usually the word "willing" falls somewhere in that sentence. Are you even Catholic?" Father Kieran questioned, he really doubted it.

"I've been on this Earth for a thousand years. I can't say for certain that I believe in anything like a God, but I need absolution. From someone. Anyone. So will you hear my confession or not?" Rebekah was growing impatient, she came here to get stuff off her chest not deal with someone judging her.

Father Kieran nodded unseen by Rebekah.

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." Rebekah began. "I am a liar, a betrayer. I have conspired against my own blood and I doubt even your God could save me."

* * *

 **24 Hours Earlier**

Klaus bit into the young woman's wrist. Normally Caroline would be bothered by someone being turned into a compelled blood bag but she since had learned that the woman wasn't being compelled and was being paid quite a lot of money by Elijah to tap a vein.

Still, Caroline preferred her blood bags rather than drinking from a girl's wrist, for her guilty conscious sake at least.

"Love," Klaus held the woman's wrist out to her in an offering.

"No, I'm good," she lifted up her glass of blood as she waved him off, taking a drink.

Klaus dropped the woman's wrist with a nod, focusing back on Rebekah who sat opposite of him, drinking from a cup. The table between them was full of breakfast food just waiting to be eaten. "Have you spoken to our good friend Marcel today?"

"No, should I have?" Rebekah said in reply, her eyes flickering to Caroline briefly.

"He's been mysteriously silent - avoiding me, some might say. I thought perhaps he may have whispered reasons into your ear. Along with all of those sweet nothings." Klaus taunted.

Caroline looked up from texting Stefan glancing between the siblings with an arched brow. The tension between them was heavy with underlining issues. For the moment she was choosing not to interfere.

"If I see him I'll be sure to ask if he's still sore at you," replied Rebekah, looking at Klaus with cold eyes.

"Let me give a voice to that look in your eyes," said Klaus, seeing the accusing look she had been giving him. "My saintly noble brother lies writhing in agony in the bayou, victim of my bastard-brother's-bite, when just one or two drops of his blood would ease his pain."

"On the contrary, Nik, I am simply enjoying my breaky waiting for Elijah's healthy return." She countered dismissively.

"Oh, come on Rebekah, you've been giving me the devil's eye all morning." Klaus pointed out. "Out with it!"

"Perhaps I'm concerned that if I voice my opinion about what you did to Elijah, I will end up on the wrong side of your toxic hybrid teeth," said Rebekah, frowning.

"Poppycock!" Klaus leaned forward. " I would never bite you. Elijah made some very offensive accusations about my intentions towards my children. He deserves a day or two of discomfort. Besides, you know my preferred method of punishment for your indiscretions is the dagger."

Caroline shook her head at his words. It was no wonder there was so much bad blood in the Mikaelson family their first go to when they disagreed was violence.

Rebekah smirked, standing up from her chair. "There is something fundamentally wrong with you." She turned and left the room.

Klaus stared down at the food on the table with a dark expression.

"Well, that went well," Caroline said hoping to break the tension in the room.

Klaus looked up, and his dark expression faded as he looked at her, with a faint smirk. "There's nothing like a breakfast with the Mikaelson,'s love."

"I'll say." Caroline finished her glass, standing up.

Klaus frowned. "Where are you going?"

Caroline flashed him a smile and rubbed his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be back, I just need to ask Rebekah about our training."

Caroline didn't wait for a reply as she went in search of Rebekah and caught her just as she was leaving the house. "Rebekah, hey,"

Rebekah turned expectantly, brushing her hair back. "What is it?"

"I know you and Klaus are having issues but are we still on for training?" Caroline wondered.

"I can't. Not today. I have things I have to do in the Quarter." Rebekah answered, her eyes no longer held the death glare she'd been giving Klaus all morning. "Maybe tomorrow."

Caroline nodded. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Rebekah smiled at the offer. "No. Why don't you ask Klaus to train you today, I'm sure he be more than happy to fill in for your trainer for the day. God knows, he'd take any chance to spend quality time with you." she gave a faint smile. "And Maybe by some miracle, it will make him more tolerable to the rest of us."

Caroline watched as Rebekah walked out the door before heading back to the dining room where Klaus still was, she walked back into the room and took her seat, aware Klaus was watching her expectantly. "So what do you think about helping me train today?"

Klaus fought back a smile at the hopeful look in her eyes as she stared at him expectantly. "How could I possibly say no to you, Love,"

Caroline grinned, grabbing up a grape from a bowl and popping it into her mouth.

Klaus watched her, fighting the urge to kiss her and taste the smile on her lips with his own, wanting to be enveloped in her light.

* * *

Elijah laid on a bed in the small hut, Hayley stood beside the bed, hovering in concern. "Here, drink this." she handed him a cup.

Elijah swallowed down its contents but immediately started to cough. "Forgive me. Please," he asked of her.

"It's okay," Hayley assured him, she didn't blame him. If anyone was to blame it was Klaus. "Remind me to annihilate your brother once you're healthy."

"Yes, remind me to remind you to get in line," said Elijah in reply.

"It doesn't help that we decided to shack up in a swamp either," Hayley said and walked outside for some fresh air but when she heard Elijah start to cough even more she returned to his side quickly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Please just... return to your reading," he told her, not wanting her to worry about him.

"I went through the whole thing. It's just a regular Bible." Hayley told him. "With an entry in a family tree, that may or may not be me, but you know I've been a little busy worrying about you."

"Hayley, please. This fever will make me unstable. And once the hallucinations begin I'll start to see things. You must leave me here." Elijah implored not wanting to accidentally hurt her.

"I'm not leaving you like this." Hayley denied him immediately.

Neither was aware of the woman lurking around just outside of the hut in the nearby woods, watching them.

* * *

Marcel arrived at the meeting that he had called. All the vampires in the Quarter had gathered in one place.

"All right, I'm here," said Marcel. "Let's do this.I'll keep this simple." he waved a hand at Tyler who was seated in a chair among them. "This kid is an old enemy of your favorite person Klaus. And he's got plenty to say about what that traitor, son of a bitch, has been up to behind my back. Now, for those of you faint of heart, there's the door. Because those who stick around, you're signing up for battle."

Not one vampire left the room and Marcel nodded proudly.

"You all know Klaus wasn't always the hybrid. When he broke the curse that kept his werewolf side dormant, somewhere in all that, certain parts were now able to trump his vampire side. Like the ability to pass on the werewolf gene." Tyler addressed the room. "That's where the werewolf girl he's been hiding from you all comes in. She rode through my town, pretended to be my friend and then ends up hooking up with him. Now she's pregnant with his spawns. Twins."

"What the hell is this?" Demanded Diego. How were they expected to trust anything this boy said when they had no idea who he is or what his true goals are.

"Just listen," Marcel told him, seeing the distrust in the way his friend stood.

"When Klaus became the hybrid, he figured out a way to turn full-bread werewolves into creatures like him." Tyler continued, raising his hand. "You're looking at one of them. On the plus side, we had all the perks of being vampires. We're stronger, faster. And the toxins in our bites could still kill a vampire. But on the downside, we were loyal to him. Like, supernaturally loyal."

"Right, and that's why you're here, spilling all his secrets?" Diego shot back doubtfully.

"That's the point, Diego." Marcel shot his guy a look. "He figured out a way to break free of it."

"And I helped the rest of them too. Then Klaus killed them for their betrayal." Tyler said, his hate evident in his eyes.

"Because that is what Klaus does." Rebekah walked into the room. "Don't mind me, I'm fascinated by this story. Hello, Tyler."

"Rebekah." Tyler returned. "Long time no see."

"What Tyler was about to tell you is that my brother can use his children's blood to sire more hybrids. What you will all figure out is that vampires don't stand a chance. So, Tyler, I assume you were trying to rally this lot into making sure these babies aren't born." Said Rebekah knowingly.

"Yeah. You don't like it? Go on and take your brother's side." Tyler sneered at her. "But you know I'm right."

"I believe you've mistaken the ladies intentions," Marcel told Tyler, moving to stand beside her.

"Alright. What's going on?" questioned Diego.

"You were absolutely right, Tyler," Rebekah told him. "My brother is a crap enough individual as it is. The last thing he needs is to sire a superior species." she looked at Marcel. "Go on, you can tell them."

"She's not here to fight us, she's here to help us," Marcel informed the room full of his guys.

"That's right. But first…" Rebekah appeared in front of Tyler snapping his neck and watched as his body went crashing to the floor and then she turned sitting down in the chair he had been sitting in. "That is enough talk about harming those unborn babies. Klaus is the one we're putting a stop to."

"Now, the babies are off limits but Tyler happened to mention the best way to get to Klaus was through a blonde vampire he keeps relatively close." Marcel addressed.

Rebekah's eyes widened as she realized who Marcel was speaking of. She stood slowly. "Tyler told you about Caroline?"

Marcel turned back to her. "Yes, he mentioned Klaus is obsessed with her and that she's a trigger point for him which makes her the best bargaining chip any of us could have asked for."

"And did he also tell you she was his girl before coming here to New Orleans. You can't trust anything he says about Caroline." Rebekah said firmly, hating the idea that Marcel wanted to use Caroline as a pawn in their game against Klaus.

"Are you saying that he's wrong. That she doesn't mean anything to your brother?" Diego stepped forward. "Becuase if that's the case it shouldn't matter what happens to her."

Rebekah's eyes narrowed. "I didn't say that."

"Then what are you saying?" Marcel stepped toward her.

"I'm saying she is not a part of this and doesn't deserve to be a discarded pawn in this game with Klaus." Rebekah grounded out. "I won't let you kill her just to get at my brother."

Marcel stepped forward and set his hands on her shoulders. "No one said anything about killing her. I'm just suggesting we use her to draw him out, set a trap, if he cares about her there's no way he would leave her to fend for herself against me and our guys."

Rebekah pursed her lips knowing better than anyone that if Klaus believed Caroline was in danger he wouldn't hesitate in throwing caution to the wind to save her. He had chosen her over his family more than once.

Slowly she nodded. "Fine but she's not to be killed." She sent a harsh glare around the room.

Marcel slid his hands up her neck his thumbs brushing her jawline. "She'll make it out of this and once Klaus is taken care of we'll let her go. I promise."

Rebekah nodded even as a twinge of guilt crept into her chest on Caroline's behalf but she took a fortifying breath, steadying herself.

This was her way of finally be free of her brother's controlling grasp. She had to do this. For not only herself but for her family. Everyone Klaus has ever betrayed or hurt.

* * *

Caroline shifted carefully on her feet, watching Klaus closely the way he stood, his body motion, the movement of his footwork. It was a struggled not to get distracted when all he wore was a pair of jeans, his shirt discarded.

"If you really pay attention to your opponent's body, their language, their movements, you have a real chance of knowing what they're going to do before they even do it," Klaus instructed.

"Like dancing?" Caroline questioned stepping left just as he stepped to the right.

A smirk tugged at Klaus's lips as he looked her over, enjoying the view of her in a pair of black yoga pants and a yellow workout top. "Like dancing."

Caroline felt a smile tugging at her lips at his smirk. It was almost involuntarily, she bit down on her bottom lip, tugging it in between her teeth and noticed almost instantly Klaus' distraction, his gaze zeroing in on her mouth, his steps faltering.

She grinned inwardly and moved in swinging her fist, catching him across the jaw while he had been distracted.

Klaus stumbled back out of surprise more than anything else but Caroline didn't let up she swung at him again but he blocked with his forearm, she swung another right hook but he caught it sidestepping her reach, slipping behind her and holding her arm across her shoulder and neck, he grabbed her other arm and pinned it behind her, pressing in close to her.

Caroline grunted pulling on her arms, but Klaus's grip was too tight.

"That was a good shot," Klaus leaned into her neck, whispering in her ear, his breath fanning out against her skin. "Really commendable, love. You saw I was distracted and seized on the opportunity without hesitation."

"I never fail to miss an opportunity." Caroline jerked her head back and slammed it into his, making his hold on her loosen, she stomped on his foot next, making him release his hold as he took a step back and she turned quickly thrusting her palm out against his chest, forcing him further back but Klaus grabbed her around the waist and slammed her into the ground, his body hovering over hers.

Caroline groaned when her back hit the ground hard, Klaus's body pinned against her, his hands gripped her shoulders, keeping her pressed down.

"Nice try, love but still not good enough," he smirked down at her. "But points for effort."

Caroline pouted up at him. "That hurt,"

One of Klaus's hand released her shoulder, trailing down her side and slipped behind her back, stroking it soothingly. "I could make it better."

Caroline smiled to herself, hoping to keep him distracted, she slowly slid her hand up his arm, watching as his expression shifted minutely, less guarded but no less focused.

She slid her hand up to his shoulder, smiling to herself when he leaned down his mouth brushing against her, softly at first then he pressed forward more, pressing his mouth more firmly against hers.

Caroline grinned her hand sliding up further curving around the back of his neck, she raised her leg and hooked it around his, her hips arching against him.

Klaus moved his hands from her back and planted his palms on the ground beside her head as he grounded against her instinctively.

Caroline tried to keep her mind focus on her task at hand but his grinding made it difficult, sending tiny shocks of heated pleasure through her, steeling herself against the feelings swirling inside her stomach, she gripped onto him, tightening her hold and used the strength of her body, twisting her hips and successfully flipping them.

Klaus pulled his mouth from hers, staring up from beneath her as she now straddled him, one hand wrapped around his neck the other planted against his chest.

Caroline loved the surprised look in his eyes. "You should never let your guard down in the presence of an opponent, Klaus." she grinned proudly.

Klaus grinned back, he jolted up his arms banding around her to keep her from falling back at the sudden move and pressed her tightly against his bare chest. "You're very right, love " he slid a hand up her back and cup the back of her neck, tugging her down. "but I'm not gonna complain at the moment."

Caroline's eyes slid shut as his mouth covered hers in a heated kiss, his tongue licking at the seam of her mouth. She moved the hand around his neck over his shoulder, pulling herself closer, his tongue sliding against hers, hand squeezing her hip.

Caroline smoothed her hand planted on his chest up to his jaw, pulling back from the kiss, her chest rising and falling, eyes sliding open to stare into his eyes that darken with lust.

Klaus stared up at her waiting, this was the first time he had kissed her since before Stefan had called and interrupted them. She had said she didn't have regrets but there hadn' been anything more since then and he didn't really know where they stood.

But she was spending more time with him, smiling and flirting, and when he kissed her she didn't hesitate to respond. That had to mean something, didn't it?

He felt the feeling of anxiety that filled his chest when she pulled away ease as she smiled slowly at him, her hands cupping his face as she leaned back down, her mouth moving over his with purpose.

He groaned when she pressed more tightly against him, her chest against his, her legs tightening around his hips, right before she grounded against him.

He groaned, his cock hardened as she grounded against him, his left hand slid down her back to her ass, cupping the flesh in his hand as he thrust up against her.

Caroline gasped and he wasted no time in exploring her mouth with his tongue, a hand wrapping around her blonde ponytail, gripping it in his fist.

Caroline grounded down her hips, grinding, quietly moaning into his mouth, feeling him hard and pressing against her.

" _Oh God_ , I'm sorry."

Caroline wrenched her mouth from Klaus's at the sound of a female voice, Klaus groaned in disappointment, leaning his forehead against her chest.

Caroline turned her head and saw Camille standing in the doorway, face flushing in embarrassment as she stared at them.

"I'm sorry, I knocked but no one answered." She apologized, her eyes going to Klaus.

Klaus lifted his head to glare at the other blonde. "Then you should have gone away."

"I'm only here because of you." Camille accused, affronted by his rudeness.

Caroline looked between the two. "Right, I almost forgot you got her helping you by getting close to Marcel."

Klaus sighed at the reminder. Knowing he needed to know if there was anything new with Marcel. Still, it didn't make him feel any better when Caroline pushed off him.

"C'mon, up you go." Caroline held a hand out to him to help him up.

Klaus glanced down at his tinted sweats and back up at her with a frustrated look. "I am up."

Caroline snorted. "We can pick things back up later."

Klaus' eyes shot to her in surprise and he accepted her help, getting back to his feet, he pulled her toward him and pressed his mouth against her in a hard kiss. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

Caroline bit her lip and tugged him down for another kiss, ignoring Camille's presence for the moment and only pulling away when she heard the other woman make an impatient noise. "You do that, I'm going to take a shower." she pulled away from him, brushing past Cami. "Be sure to put a shirt on," she called over her shoulder.

Klaus watched her go before turning his gaze to Camille and feeling a flash of annoyance. "You have excellent timing."

"I didn't know I was going to walk in on you and Carol going at it like that." Camille protested, her eyes moving over him when they drifted down to his obvious problem, she flushed.

" _Caroline_ ," Klaus said sharply.

Camille's eyes snapped up at his angry tone.

"Her name is Caroline and you should do well to remember it." he pushed past her. "Wait here, why I get a change of clothes, then we'll debrief."

Klaus didn't give her a chance to respond, leaving her there standing in the doorway. Alone.

* * *

After Camille told him all she had gathered from Marcel in the last couple days, Klaus instructed her to start writing his memoirs, and she had taken a seat on the couch writing with an old-fashioned typewriter.

Klaus paced in front of the window, a glass of whiskey in hand as he spoke. "They have all forsaken me except for Caroline. My siblings are as deceitful in disease just as my parents ever were. Accusing me of using my children for my own gain, trusting others before their own blood. The only one I feel like is on my side is Caroline."

"Would a laptop kill you?" Cami complained, annoyed with having to use the old technology and hear Klaus praising Caroline.

"That typewriter was good enough for Hemingway," Klaus replied, uncaring of her complaints.

"I see the resemblance." Cami retorted. "Booze and random acts of violence."

Klaus chose to ignore her irrelative comments. "Elijah and Rebekah have cut to the quick with their vicious lies about me. And all I've done is tried to win this battle of wills over Marcel's control of the quarter in order to reclaim our home." He glared at her in annoyance noticing she was not typing. "Type, please!"

"What's the point? You just repeat the same thing over and over again. Rebekah's out to get you. Elijah's out to get you. Is there anyone who isn't plotting your downfall?" Cami challenged. "I doubt you trust your own reflection."

"Caroline," Klaus said.

"What?" Cami's brow pulled together in confusion.

"You asked if there was anyone I trust and that's not something that comes easy to me but if there's anyone I trust even a fraction it's her."

"You trust her more than your own family?" Cami question in surprise.

"If the daggers weren't missing I would put one in each of their hearts. Rid my self of the burden of my siblings for a couple of centuries." Klaus mused in response, ignoring her question because the answer should have been obvious.

"Look at you! Repeating the same destructive cycles over and over again." Cami exclaimed. "You are the architect of your own unhappiness."

"Who the hell says I'm unhappy." Klaus shot back at her. He was finally making real progress with Caroline, it had him feeling more than he could remember feeling in over a century. Still, he didn't like that this human was questioning him. "I don't remember asking for your advice."

"Oh, really? So of all the people in New Orleans, you choose someone with a masters in psychology to record your life story. You're over a thousand years old. Pretty damn sure you know how to type." Cami argued offended at the way he talked down to her. "The truth is: You compelled me to come here because you have no one else to talk to, and you want to be understood. Then you compel me to forget everything as soon as I leave your presence because you are too scared to trust anyone."

Klaus opened his mouth to protest. But she cut him off. "Oh, I'm sorry except for Caroline, do the two of you even talk or do you just stick your tongues down each other's throats?"

"Hold your tongue when you speak of Caroline you know nothing about her and have no right to say a single thing about her, keep your judgments to yourself. Secondly, I'm scared of nothing." Klaus snatched up a piece of paper with strange signs on it. "What is this?"

"It's an ancient mystical plot I'm using to destroy you," she responded with sarcasm earning a look of pure distrust from Klaus. "Relax, it's a tattoo design."

"Draw on your own time." he glared annoyed.

"This is my time. You steal it from me!" she snapped, picking up her things and stormed off, Klaus rolled his eyes in annoyance with her dramatic display.

"You chase off your compelled therapist already." Caroline appeared in the doorway dressed in jeans and a dark green tank top and blue jean jacket, her blonde hair falling around her shoulders.

"I didn't much care for her opinions," he smirked as he looked her over. "I only care for one blonde's opinions and well she's snarky and never fails to tell me off when I spark her ire."

"She sounds pretty great." Caroline stepped forward. "You should keep her around."

Klaus' eyes darkened and he reached out pulling her forward turning her to press her into the wall. "Oh, I plan to keep her for as long as she'll allow me to." he ducked down covering her mouth and swallowing her moans as he pressed every inch of his body against hers.

* * *

Marcel and Rebekah took Tyler's temporarily dead body to the garden.

"Where do you want him?" Marcel questioned.

"Just put him anywhere handy until Klaus is taken care of," Rebekah responded. "Where are we gonna put Klaus? He needs to be away from all the others. We don't want him fomenting descent. You know he has a knack with words, he could talk his way out of hell."

"Yeah, he's got a spot picked out for him in the back. Only person he's gonna be talking to in the next 52 years is himself."

"52?" Rebekah repeated, curious by the specific number.

"One for each year that he kept you daggered in the 1800s." Marcel clarified.

"You mean you let him keep me daggered?" Rebekah challenged at the reminder.

"And I'll spend every year Klaus is in here apologizing to you for it," Marcel promised.

"Well, I'll settle for long enough to experience just a little bit of happiness. And ensure that my niece and nephew aren't turned to hybrid breeding machines." Rebekah responded. "It's gonna be tough to keep him in here. That little witch of yours would put the odds in our favor."

"I can't risk it." Marcel shot the idea down. "She's got less and less control over her magic lately. I can't even get her out of the church attic, much less rely on her to go to battle against Klaus."

"Then we'll need your very best warriors," Rebekah stated. "Klaus is strong and crafty, and betrayal makes him particularly nasty. And if you plan on using Caroline I don't think your ready for how ugly it can get."

"What we're doing is nothing Klaus hasn't done to both you and your brother a dozen times over. You're not getting second thoughts now, are you?" Marcel questioned.

"These aren't second thoughts. They're feelings of regret." Rebekah told him. "I should have buried him a hundred years ago. A hundred years we could've been together."

Marcel stepped toward her, pressing his mouth to hers, he enjoyed kissing her but he still felt like something else was bothering her. He pulled back watching her closely. "What is it?"

Rebekah frowned, eyes troubled. "I don't like having to involve Caroline in all this. You don't know her but she's not bad a person. We haven't always got along but things with her and I are different now. I consider her a friend."

Marcel knew she was right, he didn't know Caroline but he did meet her and while she was charming he also knew instinctively she was nothing like the company she kept. There was no way someone like her was with Klaus which confused him as to why she seemed to matter so much to the biggest monster there was.

"I don't intend for her to get hurt, we're just going to use her to draw your brother out and make him more compliant. If he cares about her as much as you believe then he's not gonna want her in danger. I promise you as soon as Klaus is taken care of, I'll let her go, unharmed."

Rebekah nodded, pressing forward, her body to his, their lips meeting in a shared kiss, one with feeling and longing and a history that couldn't be forgotten.

* * *

Hayley stared out at the lake just outside of the cabin, the quiet of the bayou was almost serene and she found herself feeling more at home here than she did in the Victorian mansion she was staying in with the Mikaelson.

However her quiet was broken by the sound of Elijah groaning in pain, she turned walking back into the hut and approached the bed he was laying on, sitting on the edge beside him, she pressed her hand to his forehead in concern.

* * *

 _A beautiful coral woman was soaking in a bathtub when Elijah walked into the room._

* * *

"Celeste?" Elijah's voice was hoarse as he called for a woman.

Elijah's brow furrowed when he saw a flash of brown hair and perfect olive skin, his hand reached out cupping Hayley's cheek.

Hayley instinctively leaned into his touch, feeling his thumb stroke her jawline. "Elijah."

"Katerina." Elijah breathed, his voice full of longing.

Hayley sucked in a sharp breath, jerking her face out of his grasp.

Elijah's eyes widened as suddenly he was no longer seeing Katherine but Hayley.

Hayley clenched her jaw, irritation filling her, she didn't know who Celeste was and she didn't care and more importantly, she didn't appreciate being mistaken for Katherine of all people.

"Hayley, I'm sorry." he apologized guilt nagging at him. "I thought you were someone else."

"Or Several someones," she replied, trying to push her ire away. "Celeste. Whoever she was, she was smokin' hot."

Elijah frowned, concerned. "Did I let you enter my thoughts? I'm not well. I should go. This is…"

"This is fine, Elijah. You're sick, I'm taking care of you." Hayley dismissed his concern. "Though I can't say I'm thrilled about being called Katherine. I wasn't aware you and she have a history."

"A very long and complicated one." Elijah looked past her, there was a woman outside, staring in at them. "We're being watched."

Hayley caught a glimpse of the woman when she turned to look and quickly went outside to investigate.

The older woman stood near the hut but when she saw Hayley she took off on a run.

"Hey. Hey!" Hayley called after her but didn't follow her. She couldn't leave Elijah

* * *

Klaus walked into the garage, his eyes focused on Josh who stood looking at a car, silently he walked up to stand behind the baby vamp.

"God, man!" Josh turned, suddenly, realizing Klaus was just standing behind him, watching him like prey. "I'll never get used to that. Why do I get the feeling you studied theater?"

"All the world's a stage, young Joshua," Klaus responded, easily. "And it just so happens I have the role of a lifetime for you."

* * *

Josh dove down the road while talking to Marcel and Rebekah on his cell.

" _What do you got, Josh?_ " Asked Marcel.

"What do I got?" Josh repeated. "Klaus wants me to steal some dagger from you. It's a test, okay? He knows I'm working for you, I'm sure of it."

" _That bastard wants to dagger us again_." Rebekah seethed, eyes darkening in anger. " _He deserves everything he's gonna get._ "

" _Relax_ ," Marcel told Josh, hearing the anxiety and fear in the younger vampire's voice. " _If he knew, he would've ripped your spine out through your nose by know._ "

"Oh, great. Now I feel totally at ease!" Josh returned sarcastically. "What am I supposed to do?"

" _You tell him you searched high and low but you couldn't find the dagger,_ " Marcel instructed.

Josh groaned in dread. "God, I'm so dead."

Marcel continued as if Marcel hadn't spoken. " _Then you tell him you saw I had it on me and if he wants it he'll have to come and get it. Which won't be easy as I'm paranoid and I've beefed up my posse."  
_

* * *

Back in the garage, Josh continued to talk to Klaus, playing his part. "Right, so, not doubting your mad vampire skills of destruction or anything, but Marcel's on red alert. Surrounded by, like, an army. You're totally boned. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Klaus asked.

"I overheard him arguing with Diego. Apparently, he's clearing out the compound tonight for a date or something." Josh lied, hoping Klaus wouldn't see through him. "That's where Marcel will be."

"When I run New Orleans, there will be a permanent daylight ring in it for you, Joshua," Klaus promised. "For services rendered on to your true king."

"Cool," Josh responded, smiling nervously.

"But if you ever betray me, I will make sure you spend the rest of your eternal life in exquisite agony, wishing for a merciful death." Klaus threatened, his eyes menacing, he patted Josh on the shoulder and walked away.

"Adiós, Klaus," Josh said when he was gone.

* * *

Caroline was sitting on the porch on the plantation home, sipping at a glass of blood, speaking into the phone with Elena. "So Katherine's human now?"

She hadn't realized just how much she was missing of what has been going on back in Mystic Falls of late. She mainly talked to her mother and Stefan and neither of them had mentioned what was going on back home.

" _Serves her right and let's just say human does not look good on her_."

Caroline could hear the smile in Elena's voice, Caroline, however, couldn't help but frown. Don't get her wrong, she was in no way friends with Katherine of all people but she couldn't imagine how awful it must be to be human again after being a vampire as long as Katherine has been one.

Caroline herself could never imagine going back to being human, she loved being a vampire. She felt more home in her own skin now than she ever did when she was human. Being a vampire was who she was.

She couldn't help but think Katherine must have felt the same thing. "How is she dealing? With everything I mean?"

Elena fell silent for just a moment. " _Do you actually care about Katherine?"_

"I just think it must be difficult to go from being a vampire for over 400 years and then back to a weak human. It must be a terrible adjustment."

" _Caroline_." Elena sighed. " _Sometimes you care too much about people you shouldn't. Speaking of which, how is Klaus? You're not letting him mess with your head, are you? He's not someone you should be getting mix up with. Look at the mess he got you in already._ "

Caroline pulled the phone away from her ear, glaring. Was it wrong that she wanted to throw in Elena's face that getting involved with Damon wasn't a good idea yet it was still something Elena did without any regards to anyone else?

Sighing, she put the phone back to her ear. "Klaus isn't the problem here. This city is at war with itself and unfortunately, I got caught in the middle."

" _Yeah, because of Klaus, if it wasn't for him_ -"

Her phone buzzed with another call and she pulled it away and saw Rebekah's name flashing across the screen. She quickly put the phone to her ear again. "I gotta go, Elena." she didn't wait for a reply and hung up.

She quickly accepted Rebekah's call. "Hey, Rebekah."

Caroline much rather talk to Rebekah than listen to all the accusation and blame Elena wanted to lay on Klaus.

* * *

 _Elijah entered the room, Celeste was soaking in the bath at the sight of him she threw a sponge at him and he caught it._

 _Celeste giggled, smiling, she said. "Assistance, please, good sir."_

 _"No, I'm much happier taking in such a wondrous view." Responded Elijah, eyeing her with obvious appreciation. " It's perfection."_

 _"Your brother is again up to no good. He's challenging the gentry to duels as though they have any chance of a fair fight." Celeste informed him, her dislike for his brother clear in her tone._

 _"I do grow weary of sacrificing my joy to temper my brother's mischief. Surely, you can cast a spell to put him in his place." Elijah suggested._

 _"It would take a hundred witches to put him in his place," said Celeste. "Besides, he only ever listens to you."_

 _"Yes. He certainly needs a little discipline. Spanking of some kind is in order. I think I shall need some rehearsal." His eyes shone with lust. "Come."_

 _Celeste leaned forward, pressing her mouth to his, more than interested in his tempting offer._

 _Elijah surroundings changed suddenly and he was on a bed, Katherina hovered above him, her long hair falling around them, as she leaned forward kissing him slowly, straddling his hips, her hand slowly unbuttoning his shirt the other gripped his chin._

 _Elijah groaned as she ground her hips against his, her body seeking for something more._

 _"Elijah, please," she breathed, she had never been one to beg for anything but with him, she would and Elijah took delight in it._

 _"Please, what?" his hand fisted in her hair, baring her neck to his mouth, sucking at her flesh._

 _"Don't tease me, I want you and I don't want you holding back." Katherine purred._

 _Elijah grinned against her neck, Katherine let out a surprised gasp that quickly turned into a moan as he moved his body against hers, pressing into her.  
_

* * *

A shiver racked Elijah's body, "Hayley, please." Elijah groaned in pain. "This fever. My mind is flooded with these torturous memories. You have to leave."

"What is your deal? You don't like people taking care of you?" Hayley questioned. He kept trying to get her to leave even though there was no way she was going to do that. Not to him.

"There are consequences for those that care. I will not have you pay that price." Said Elijah, every real connection he had with a woman never ended well.

"So you're having weird retro sex dreams about two different women? Get over it, I'm staying." She told him, dismissing his concerns.

"What about our visitor?" Elijah questioned. "What does she want?"

"I'm guessing she's the one that left the mystery Bible on the doorstep last night," said Hayley. "Would be nice if she'd stick around long enough to tell me why."

"Hayley, you came here to gather any information about your family, not to play nursemaid to a vampire with a temperature. Please, find her." Elijah urged her to go. "Learn what you can."

"No, I'm staying," Hayley responded firmly.

* * *

Caroline glanced down at her phone, Rebekah had asked her to meet her in the Quarter, thinking nothing of it and that Rebekah just didn't want to see Klaus again, she agreed to meet her.

She didn't care about staying hidden on the plantation anymore, she was learning to handle older vampires so she could handle herself pretty well.

She looked around at the bar, Rebekah asked her to wait outside for her. She was ten minutes late.

She was just about to call Rebekah when she heard the blonde's voice. "Sorry for having you come all the way out here."

Caroline turned and saw her approaching her.

"I just really can't deal with Klaus, right now." Rebekah continued. "He's being a nightmare which is no different from any other day."

Caroline knew Rebekah was entitled to her anger with Klaus but she also couldn't help the strong feeling of needing to defend him. "He's not that bad."

"To you." Rebekah snorted. "But to the rest of us? His family? He's a bloody nightmare, we can't turn our backs on him for a second because we never know how he will strike out against us."

Caroline pursed her lips. "I know you're upset with him about Elijah but he was hurt by Elijah and Hayley's accusations and he lashed out. He cares more for those children then he wants to admit."

Rebekah paused, eying Caroline closely. "He talks to you and you try to see things through his perspective. I hadn't realized you guys were closer more so than you already were." She hadn't realized how much Klaus obviously let Caroline in past his walls.

"I decided to stop basing my judgments based off of others and only on what I know of him and Klaus, he would never intentionally let anything happen to me. He cares for me and if I'm being honest, I've really started to care for him."

"Klaus always did have a way of getting what he wants even when he doesn't deserve it." Rebekah felt guilt for what she was about to do but she pushed the feeling down and instead focused on her anger about Klaus. "I'm sorry you got mixed up in this."

Caroline looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"

Rebekah frowned at her sadly. "When this is over I hope as a friend you can forgive me but this is something I have to do."

"Rebekah," Caroline took a questioning step forward. "Forgive you for what? I don't understand."

"I know." Rebekah's hands snapped out, gripping her by the neck and snapping it to the side, she let caroline's body fall to the ground.

"Let's get her back to the compound." Marcel appeared, scooping up Caroline's body.

Rebekah looked at Caroline with a feeling of regret.

"Hey," she looked up at Marcel as he looked at her with an expression of sympathy. "She'll forgive you. When this is done and Klaus is sealed away, you just have to give her some time."

Rebekah nodded, still looking uncertain and vamp sped off with him, taking Caroline's unconscious form with them.

* * *

"Caroline?" Klaus moved through the house in search of his favorite girl but the house was eerily silent.

He frowned, moving from room to room but unable to find her, feeling a niggle of worry, he pulled out his phone, dialing her cell, waiting, impatiently for her to pick up, needing to hear her and silence the sudden voice in his head, telling him something's wrong.

"You reached Caroline, leave a message and I will get back to you. Maybe, Depends how I feel about you to be honest."

Klaus hung up angrily, hating that he only got her voice mail.

His phone buzzed suddenly and hoped filled him that it was Caroline but that hope soon diminished when he saw Josh's name flashing on the screen. "What?!" he barked into the phone. "I'm a little busy, right now, I don't have time to-"

" _Marcel has Caroline, he realized you were after the dagger he has and decided he was going to take something from you._ " Josh's voice cut through quickly. " _He says if you want her back then you should come and get her."  
_  
Klaus's eyes blackened, crushing his phone in his hand, shattering it to pieces an animalistic growl ripped from his chest, he turned vamp speeding away.

There was no time to waste. He knew he was running into a trap but he didn't care. Marcel had Caroline, that was all that mattered. Everything else was all inconsequential.

* * *

"MARCEL!" Klaus appeared in Marcel's courtyard, livid. "Where is she!?"

"Klaus." Marcel stepped out of the darkness of the courtyard.

"Where is Caroline?! What have you done to her?!"

"You're girl's fine and she'll stay that way as long as you comply with my demands." Marcel pulled out one of the white ash daggers.

"Give her back or so help me.." Klaus seethed, anger boiling beneath his veins.

"You are in no place to be making demands." Marcel stretched out his hand with the dagger towards Klaus.

Klaus saw a flash of blonde hair and Rebakeh was suddenly there taking the dagger in her hand.

Klaus's angry eyes steeled over. "What is this?" he demanded. "Did you lure Caroline out to the Quarter so Marcel could get his hands on her?!"

"I did what I had to," Rebekah responded defensively. "I've had enough of your behavior, your actions, always lashing out, holding people accountable for wrongs against you and never taking any of the blame yourself. We have had enough."

"Look at you." Klaus sneered. "Finally in possession of the one thing that can take you down. How does it feel?"

"Great." She responded with a small smirk. It felt good to finally have the upper hand on her traitorous dagger happy brother.

Marcel whistled and a crowd of vampires appeared.

"So this is it?" Klaus questioned. "The evil bastard Klaus has gone too far. Must be punished. And by his own sibling, nonetheless. How positively biblical. And you, Marcel, is this," he pointed at Marcel's crowd of vampires, "your idea of a hit? I taught you better than this poultry excuse for a takedown. Do you think you can subdue me - with this!?"

"No. But I think I can with this." Marcel whistled again, more vampires appeared, circling around Klaus just waiting for Marcel's signal.

"But I'm hoping it won't be necessary." Marcel waved his hand and two vampires came forward with Caroline in between them.

"Let me go, you son of a bitch!" Caroline cursed angrily, struggling to break free. "You're going to regret laying one hand on me."

At the sound of Caroline's voice and the sight of her struggling against the two vampires holding her, Klaus saw red.

"Now you're going to comply with everything I say," Marcel informed him. "Or your girl, Caroline here will suffer the consequences."

Caroline's eyes darkened as she glared at Marcel and Rebekah with the dagger in her hand and it was clear to her that they wanted Klaus to accept being put down in exchange for her safety.

Fucking screw that.

"Don't listen to a thing they say, Klaus." Caroline met his blue eyes defiantly. "You're a fighter. That's what you do. It's who you are." she nodded at him sharply, wanting to get her point across. "So do it. _Fight back_."

Klaus stared back at her, her words echoing in his head resonating through him. He would do exactly as she said.

But First.

He vamped sped forward knocking the head off one of the vampires that held Caroline and ripping the heart out of the other and pulled Caroline to him, close to his body, his hand moving to grip her tightly before anyone could so much as make a move against him.

He stared at Marcel angrily, Caroline gripped his hand back, glaring along with him, anger working through her, feeling betrayed.

It was no wonder Klaus felt like he couldn't trust anyone and everyone was out against him because from where she was standing at his side, facing down a crowd of enemies including the man who was like a son to him and his own sister, he wasn't wrong in that assumption.

* * *

Elijah panted, his breathing irregular. Hayley sat beside him on the bed with her hand to his forehead, trying to soothe him as he seemed to be struggling against his own mind.

"Celeste." he panted. "Forgive me. I'm sorry."

* * *

 _Klaus stood back to back with another man revolvers in their hands._

 _When Klaus spoke, he gave orders in French, he and the other man started walking away from each other and he counted down in French. "Huit, sept, six, cinq, Quatre, trois, deux."_

 _Klaus and the man turned around simultaneously, aiming the revolvers and firing off shots. Klaus remained unharmed, while the man fell to the ground, dead with a perfect shot to his head._

 _"Is that it?" Klaus taunted smirking. "Is this the best New Orleans has to offer?"_

 _Another man walked forward and dragged the corpse to a pile of other dead bodies._

 _"Brother!" Elijah arrives, making his presence known quickly followed by his disapproval. "Please, this is high folly. Is it not enough, you have slaughtered dozens in just these past several weeks? Word of a city littered with bodies will surely travel the oceans. Do you want to bring our father upon us?"_

 _"Relax, brother." Klaus brushed off his brother's concerns. "I've sent rumor that the bodies are a result of the witches seeking blood sacrifice for their rituals."_

 _"You did what?" Elijah stared at his brother hard with a look of anger. "Have you forgotten? Celeste is one of those that you recklessly point your finger at."_

 _"Who's Celeste?" asked Klaus._

 _Elijah shot Klaus a meaningful look, his brother knew exactly who Celeste was and why he would have a problem with what he has done._

 _"Oh, yes! The witch you've been knocking around with." Klaus recalled with feigned sudden recognition. "Well, fear not. Harlots are like rats in the quarter. You trip over one every step you take."_

 _Elijah pulled out a revolver and fired at his brother._

 _Klaus groaned in pain when the bullet struck him. "You care about her. Well, that is unfortunate. I hear they're rounding up the towns witches as we speak."_

 _Elijah stared at his brother in betrayal. "Niklaus! I'll kill you, you bastard!" he rushed forward but the moment he reached him, everything around him changed and Katerina stood in front of him._

 _Her long hair falling around her shoulders, lips painted red. "Why can't you ever choose me?" she questioned, eyes looking at him imploringly._

 _"You know how much I care about my family," Elijah told her._

 _Katerine reaching forward taking his hands in her and holding them against her heart. "And what about how you care about me? When you're family comes in to play does what you feel for me just disappear? Is that how this works?" her hands tightened on his, her look becoming hard, eyes glaring. "Tell me, Elijah."_

 _"You know how I feel about you, Katerina. I love you, I always have."_

 _Katerine dropped her hands, stepping away from him with a look of disgust. "But it will never be enough, will it? How much longer are you going to let Klaus rule your life?"_

 _"Katerina." Elijah took a step toward her but she smacked his hand away when he reached her. "If that awful brother is who you choose then go to him, I'm tired of being second to the man whose sole purpose is to kill me like he did my entire family."_

 _Elijah called after her, his hand reaching out but she was gone, he whirled around and Klaus was there laughing._

 _"What a pathetic display, brother." Klaus taunted, his eyes glinting with mockery. "I don't know what's more pathetic, you or your feelings for Katerina?"_

 _The scene changed again and suddenly Katerina was in front of Klaus, his hand plunged into her chest, wrapping around her heart._

 _"No!" Elijah roared but it was too late with one vicious yanked, the woman he had spent the last 500 years loving dropped to the ground dead, her heart in his brother's hands. "God, please, no!"  
_

* * *

"Katerina!" Elijah's name tore from his mouth in a hoarse shout, grief-stricken he jolted up, another hoarse scream tore from his throat.

Hayley looked at Elijah, worriedly. "Elijah?"

"Niklaus! How could you!?" He whirled on her, not seeing her but Klaus. "All you have ever done is take from me but to rip her away from me! I'll never forgive you. You'll pay for what you have done. I will kill you myself!"

Hayley slowly got off the bed, cautiously. "Elijah?" she asked scared.

Elijah jumped up, wrapping his hand around Hayley's neck.

Hayley struggled to breathe, his grip so tight cutting off her air supply. She clawed at his hand, fighting for air.

A loud bang echoed as the door hit the wall, Hayley caught sight of Dwayne bursting into the room over Elijah's shoulder.

Elijah was torn from her and she watched shock as Dwayne snapped the leg off a chair and slammed it into Elijah's heart, his skin greying instantly as he collapsed to the ground.

Hayley tensed as Dwayne turned to her but when she looked into his eyes all she could see was concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she nodded, gasping, catching her breath, frowning. "Have you been watching me?"

"Yes," a woman voice answered and Hayley looked around to see an older woman enter the cabin. The same one who had watched them through the window. "And he's not the only one."

Hayley looked at the woman surprised. "Well, hello to you, too."

* * *

Klaus stood in the middle of Marcel's vampires, his hand wrapped tightly around Caroline's protectively, he looked out at the vampires than to her, his jaw clenching.

He was going to have to tear through all of them and she would have to see it, a part of him feared letting her see his darkest side, scared she would regret what was happening between them now.

He felt her hand tightened around his and he looked down at their clasp hands, he felt her step closer to him, her body brushing against his and he looked up at her slowly, the look in her blue eyes surprising him, it was hard and unrelenting but full of resolve and then she nodded at him and he knew without even exchanging one word that she was telling him she understood, she would fight at his side. That they would take on this threat together.

He didn't know how she conveyed so much in one look without saying a single word, but he felt it in his bones and it made him fall for her even more than he already had.

He nodded at her, trusting her as they stood surrounded in the middle of Marcel's vampires.

"Let's end this charade, shall we? Vampires of New Orleans!" Klaus called out, looking around at the men and women surrounding them. "Do recall that I am an Original. A hybrid. I cannot be killed. Eternity is an awfully long time. How long, do you think, Marcel will stay in power? What if one of you lot were to release me, knowing I will be eternally in your debt? Oh, I would pity those of you who dared to cross me. I can assure you, your ends would be spectacular. To borrow a trick from an old friend." He stretched out a hand with a coin in it. "Whoever picks up... this coin... gets to live." He dropped the coin. "Now which of you, magnificent bastards wants to join me?" He looked at Caroline then back to the vampires. "Join us?"

"Anyone wants that coin, pledge allegiance to Klaus. Take it now. Go ahead." Marcel told his vampires, he wasn't going to take that decision from his guys. "The choice is yours."

However, not a single vampire moved to pick up the coin.

Klaus shifted on his feet, looking around surprised that not a single one turned their back on Marcel for a chance to join him, the Original Hybrid.

Marcel looked at him, proud of the loyalty his guys showed, proud that his trust in them wasn't misplaced. "Take them," he ordered.

Two vampires moved straight for Caroline but Klaus moved her behind him before she could react and plunged his hands into their chest ripping them out, and dropping them to the ground, he stretched both his bloody hands out invitingly for them to just come at him and try. He was ready.

Caroline was not going to stand idly by she stepped out beside him, her body tense and ready for a fight, chin raised defiantly.

More vampire descended upon them and Caroline struck out, slamming her hand in one chest, she dropped down swept her leg out, knocking off his feet once he was on his back she plunged her hand into his chest cavity, her fingers curling around his heart and yanked out his heart.

There was no time to think about what she just did as she moved onto the next vampire, seeing Klaus out of the corner of her eye tearing through the vampires viciously.

It was a flurry of sharp brutal attacks, fighting off the enemy back to back with Klaus. The strange thing was, fighting beside him, him trusting her to have his back without a single doubt, she never felt more like someone's equal in her life and it was exhilarating.

She moved faster, her blows harsher as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

Klaus allowed himself a moment to watch Caroline embracing the darker part of being a vampire and the way she excelled at it, blood coated her hands, her vampire visage shining through, eyes darkened with bloodlust. She was beautiful even as she embraced the darkness.

In his distraction, Marcel vampires, secured chains around his wrists and tried to bind him instead he yanked them to him, using the chain as a weapon.

Caroline grabbed a hold of a vampire, flipping him over her head, and smashing her foot into his neck, snapping it.

More and more vampires were more focused on Klaus and eventually, they got the upper-hand taking him down, dragging him away, hitting him repeatedly.

Caroline caught sight of them dragging him back and she fought harder slamming her foot into another vampire, knocking him back and turning to go to Klaus, he caught her by the shoulder and tossed her back, her back colliding roughly with stone, causing her to give a cry of pain.

Klaus' head snapped up, his eyes shining amber gold, his hybrid feature prominent, expression dark and vivid. An animalistic growl tore from his chest.

Rebekah stared on wide-eyed, paralyzed by disbelief. In all her years with Klaus, she had never seen him like this. And honestly, fear crept inside her heart, not unlike the fear she felt for being daggered.

Hearing Caroline cry out had Klaus tearing through the vampires with a vengeance, using his thousand-year-old strength to rip limbs off, knocking off heads and ripping out hearts, blood coated his hands, he yanked one vampire to him tearing into a vampire's neck so viciously his head came off, blood dripped from his chin, as he ran for the one standing in front of Caroline as she pushed herself back to her feet.

He yanked the vampire back and wrapped his hands around his skull and pulled, tearing the flesh straight from his shoulder, blood spraying him, he tossed the head aside as the vampire's body hit the ground.

Caroline stared at him in shock for a moment before she moved to his back, pressing her's against his, ready to fend off his enemies.

Klaus feeling invigorated with Caroline at his back, shouted. "Marcel! Come and finish this!"

Marcel moved readily to run at Klaus.

"No!" Rebekah grabbed his arm tightly, holding him back. "Take the coin!"

Marcel looked at her confused by her sudden change, this was their chance and it just may be the only chance they get. "What?"

"He won't stop until everyone is dead." Rebekah was desperate, realizing their mistake. They thought taking him down would be simple and easy with it all planned out. They had been wrong. "And he will kill you too. End this. Pick up the coin!"

Marcel looked out, watching his guys die, Klaus and Caroline both coated in their blood. "Enough!" he shouted, loud and clear, his voice like a boom in the courtyard.

Suddenly the room fell absolutely silent, what remained of Marcel's vampires freezing in place, Marcel crouched, locking eyes with Klaus and picked up the coin.

"Well, well, well," Klaus smirked, blood coating his mouth and staining his chin. "The great Marcel, self-proclaimed king of New Orleans, bowing before me."

Marcel threw away the coin in Klaus' direction and he caught it easily in his hand.

"There." Marcel snapped, glaring, his tone bitter. "I hereby pledge my allegiance to you. You have the keys to my kingdom. It's yours."

Klaus smiled and held out a hand to Caroline and she took it instinctively, uncaring of the blood that wet their hands, as their hands locked together, a sign of loyalty and support.

Caroline looked at Marcel and then for Rebekah but she had disappeared, and Caroline felt the sting of her betrayal like a knife, twisting inside her. And she wondered was this what Klaus felt every time he felt his family had betrayed him? No wonder trust was the hardest thing for him.

* * *

Hayley had followed the woman, Eve outside, where the woman had a bonfire going. Dwayne kept close to Hayley, she could feel his eyes watching her constantly.

"I'm sure you got questions." said the woman, looking at her expectantly.

"Only a thousand of them," Hayley responded. "Like who are you? Why are you following me? Where the hell is everyone and if the people in this book really are my family, what happened to them?"

"I'm Eve." The woman said. "I'm following you because you brought an Original to a werewolf country which is pretty much the same reason why everybody else skedaddled. If you wanna know what happened to the people in that family tree, I'll sum it up nice and quick: Marcel happened."

Hayley's jaw clenched, everything that happened seemed to always lead back to Marcel, the self-proclaimed ruler of New Orleans. "What did he do?" "

"He killed most of them," Eve informed her. "Later, the descendants of the ones who dodged death, he strong-armed a witch into putting a curse on them."

Hayley's brow furrowed. "What kind of curse?"

"Swap nature around, inside out. Made it so their natural stay as wolves. They only turn back human on the full moon." answered Eve matter of factly. "We're hunted by the marks we carry. That crescent moon birthmark - that's why I got rid of mine. I didn't wanna get found out."

"Good evening." Elijah appeared, interrupting the two approaching Dwayne, looking worse for wear after coming back from being staked. "Think I might have something which belongs to you." he held out the makeshift stake Dwayne used to dagger him.

"Elijah wasn't his self," Hayley interjected. "He would never intentionally hurt me." Hayley turned to the Original they were discussing. "Elijah, I've got this." her expression became concerned. "Are you okay?"

"The wound is healed, the fever is broken but for some strange reason I have this sharp and lingering sensation in my heart," Elijah responded.

Dwayne met his gaze head-on. "I did what I had to, I was protecting Hayley."

"And you did," Hayley assured him, hoping to distract him from glaring a hole through Elijah.

Dwayne looked at her when she spoke and she was unnerved by the way he seemed to be hanging onto her every word like his well being depended on it. Having someone sire to you was definitely something she was going to need time to get used to.

Hayley shook her head and turned back to Eve, addressing her. "I have to get him home. But I'll be back, okay? I need to know more."

"Keep that mark covered up." Eve cautioned, before disappearing into the trees.

Hayley turned to Dwayne, he was still watching her. "Dwayne, I want you to stay here." She didn't need a shadow watching her every move.

Dwayne nodded, not even protesting or arguing against her words.

"What happened?" Elijah asked as Hayley turned her gaze back to the trees as if she expected the woman Eve to return.

"I just met part of my family," Hayley answered, a thin smile playing at her lips. If her family, her pack were out there, cursed by a witch then perhaps she could use her current alliance with Sophie to get her to undo it and give her family back. After all, she should at least get something a little more out of her deal with Sophie after how much she has held up her end.

Her hand moved to her stomach, rubbing at the growing bump there absentmindedly.

* * *

The dead vampires were covered in white sheets by Diego and some of the other surviving vampires.

Marcel stood at the balcony watching as Diego, poured alcohol over the fallen vampires.

"Looking at what you've wrought?" Klaus asked, approaching Marcel, blood still stained his clothes, but the blood that coated his mouth and face was gone, cleared away.

"Look, if you're gonna kill me let's get this over with," Marcel told him.

Klaus looked at him. "When I heard you had Caroline. I wanted to. I wanted to rip you apart but you picked up the coin. There are rules of engagement in battle, Marcel. Without them, you'd have anarchy." he paused, thinking of Caroline. "However if you would have harmed her even that wouldn't have saved you. When it comes to her I don't care about rules or anarchy." his eyes narrowed, his mouth twisting with a dark frown. "I advise you to never go after Caroline again because I won't hesitate to rip your heart out from your chest and present it to her for any wrongs against her."

Marcel stared at Klaus, his expression dark and unrelenting and knew Klaus wasn't making an empty threat, wasn't playing his usual games. He was completely serious. Marcel could practically feel this righteous anger coming off of Klaus on Caroline's behalf. "I never intended to hurt her. She was just meant to be bait."

"Caroline isn't just anything," Klaus said sharply. "You'll do well to remember that."

"I've really grown to hate being Klaus bait."

Klaus and Marcel both turned to Caroline approaching, like Klaus blood stained clothes her own were stained with blood but she had excused herself to clean the blood from her hands.

"It's a pattern I definitely want to put an end to." she moved to stand beside Klaus. "I think I proved I don't need you to fight my battles but I do appreciate the thought."

Klaus wrapped an arm around her shoulder rubbing it briefly. "You were glorious tonight, love."

Caroline snorted. Of course, he would think her giving into her killer instincts was something to be celebrated. She focused her attention on Marcel. "Where's Rebekah?"

"Gone. Look, she may have helped get you here but she was reluctant to involve you in this." Marcel felt compelled to defend Rebekah when she had been hesitant to betray a friend.

"I find that hard to believe." Klaus let his arm drop from around Caroline. "How else could you have known to use her against me?"

"Tyler Lockwood," Marcel answered.

Caroline opened and closed her mouth before finally saying. "Tyler? He told you to use me?" She didn't know why she was surprised, but every time he betrayed her, it twisted a knife inside her that much deeper. He was so far from the boy she had first fallen in love with. She could barely recognize the person had become. And that person wasn't someone she wanted to know.

Klaus looked at her, his brow furrowing in concerned, he wanted to reach out an comfort her but with their audience, it really wasn't the time.

"He said the best way to get to Klaus was through you and after what happened tonight I can't say he was wrong," Marcel responded with a bitter smile.

"He wasn't," Klaus responded. "Enough about that pathetic traitor. I would, however, like to talk about accommodations. Your living quarters, for example. I believe they used to be mine."

"You own this, fine. It's yours. You can put me back on the street for all I care. But let's make one thing clear." Marcel stepped toward Klaus glaring. "You will never have this: loyalty. You can't buy it, you can't own it, you can't force it. It comes only out of love and respect for the people who believe in you. You taught me many things, Niklaus Mikaelson, but this I learned myself. And it is something that you will never know. Enjoy your kingdom." He turned, leaving.

Caroline frowned after him, she didn't know Marcel well or at all really but he wasn't what she expected. In all honesty, she expected someone worse than him but he wasn't all that terrible, not really.

Klaus clenched his jaw and watched as Diego dropped a lighter, the vampire torches catching fire. Marcel words drove deep, twisting him in knots but then he felt a hand smaller than his own, slipped into his and knew Marcel wasn't completely right because he knew true loyalty every time he looked at Caroline.

His hand tightened around her's as he turned to her and reached up with his other free hand, cupping her jaw, watching her silently, his thumb brushing her lower lip.

Caroline shivered at his touch, the intense look in his eyes, making her skin heat, his silence deepening the moment, she reached up and placed her hand over his and stepped toward him, tilting her head back and leaning up to brush her lips against his.

Klaus breath left him in a rush and his hand released hers, wrapping around her waist, deepening the kiss, never willing to waste a moment with her.

* * *

Elijah pulled up outside the plantation home, Hayley was seated beside him in the passenger seat.

"So thanks for the ride." Said Hayley not exactly ready to get out of the car.

Elijah smiled. "Quite the awkward little adventure, wouldn't you say? I'm sorry I tried to hurt you, I would never want that. "

Hayley turned toward him, watching him closely. "Elijah, tell me what happened to Celeste."

"That's not important," Elijah told her not wanting to talk about it.

"It is important. Thousand years of memories and that is one of the few memories that break's through your fever brain?" Hayley challenged, wanting to know more about a woman who seemed to mean so much to Elijah. She already knew plenty about Katherine but Celeste she knew almost nothing about. "I wanna know. Show me!"

Elijah laid his hand on the back of Hayley's head and images flashed behind her lids.

* * *

 _Celeste laid beneath a body of water in the bathtub, eyes opened but unseeing, lifeless to the world._

 _Elijah screamed in anguish.  
_

* * *

"It was a cruel and bloody time to be a witch. Courtesy of my wonderful brother." To do this day he still felt the pain of her loss.

"She died because of Klaus?" asked Hayley.

"She died because of me. Because I cared too deeply for her," said Elijah the guilt still ate away at him. "I had allowed my brother to slip through my grasp. I loosened the reigns while Celeste consumed my every moment. I had abandoned him in the name of my own happiness. Celeste paid the price. And she wasn't the only one. Every time I found something, someone who made m happy, Klaus always found a way to ruin it."

"Even with Katherine?" asked Hayley, truly wanting to know.

"Especially with Katerina." Elijah looked at her a moment. "No woman has ever meant so much to me."

Hayley lips twisted. "Why? I've met Katherine and she's awful."

"She was different with me," Elijah defended. "I'll show you."

Hayley half wanted to protest, not wanting to see anything to do with Katherine of all people. She hated that she had aligned herself with her no matter how short of a time it was. However, before she could protest images flashed behind her eyes.

 _She saw Katherine with Elijah in an open field, Elijah chasing her. She looked entirely human._

 _The memory changed. Elijah looked at Katherine in betrayal. "I had found a way to save your life."_

 _Blood dripped from Katherine's chin. "I couldn't take that chance and now I'm stronger than ever. I've never been better."_

 _The memory changed again, Katherine hovered above him, her long hair falling around them as he ran a hand through her curls. "I've missed you, Elijah."_

 _The memory changed again, and this time Katherine was staring at him with a look of anger. "Are you ever going to start living for yourself and not Klaus? When does your life start Elijah?"_

 _"I can't turn my back on this. This is our family's chance." Elijah stated strongly, reaching for her._

 _Katherine smacked his hand away. "Come see me when you finally move on from your brother."  
_

* * *

Hayley sucked in a sharp breath, she hated to agree with Katherine especially with the sudden jealousy she felt toward the woman but she was right. Elijah was never going to truly live for himself until he learned to let his brother go.

"I don't get it." She said finally shaking her head. "Why are we here? Why are you trying to put together your family when it's so clear that one part of it is broken?"

"To me, the very definition of the word "broken" suggests that something can be fixed," Elijah responded, locking eyes with her. "I have a whole eternity to accomplish one single task: My brother's salvation. If I surrender this, then tell me what value would I be to my family, to myself, to... to your children?"

Hayley reached out laying her hand upon Elijah's.

Elijah shook his head. "Please, Hayley. You've seen what happens." but despite his words, he held her hand in his for a just moment before opening his car door and exiting the vehicle.

Hayley stared after him before reluctantly climbing out of the car.

* * *

"Is the Abattoir really better than here?" Caroline wondered as she gripped her pack bags.

"It was mine. It was where I lived before I left int the 1900's. I would like for you to stay there with me in the family home I built." Klaus told her, catching her gaze.

Caroline nodded but turned at the sound of approaching footsteps and a moment later Rebekah appeared in the doorway. Caroline glared at her. "Rebekah."

"Caroline, I-"

"Don't apologize. I don't want to hear it." Caroline cut her off. "You know, I actually thought we were becoming friends. Stupid me, right? I won't be making that mistake again."

Rebekah opened her mouth to respond but Caroline was already pushing past her, calling over her shoulder to Klaus. "I'll be waiting for you outside."

Rebekah frowned at Caroline's departure but quickly got distracted. "Elijah's home, there's only one dagger. Which one of us will you be punishing today?"

"I contemplated a game of eenie-meenie-miney-moe. You betrayed me. My own sister! You put Caroline in danger! If I dagger you today you will be lucky to ever wake up again."

Elijah walked into the room, stepping protectively next to Rebekah. "Niklaus, don't you dare!"

"Perhaps it should be you, brother!" Klaus whirled on him, a dagger in his hand. "Stealing my children away with every fawning moment of tenderness you show to Hayley!"

"This has nothing to do with Hayley," Elijah said flatly.

Klaus pointed the dagger at him. "It has everything to do with her! She's adored you since she arrived and while I could care less about her feelings I do care how my children go up. I care that my children, my blood will grow up to call _you_ father!"

"Is that what this is?" asked Rebekah. "You are once again worried that you will be left behind. Has history taught you nothing? We don't abandon you, Nik, you drive us away!"

"Is that so? What have I done lately, other than cooperate?" Klaus glared at her, jaw clenching. "I bow down to you, brother, to make up for daggering you. For the greater good of our plan to reclaim our home. I put up with your disregard for someone very important to me. Look the other way, sister. While you repeat the same cycle with Marcel, falling again for a man you shouldn't be with, while he controls the empire that we built! That he took!" his eyes flashed, blackened amber gold as anger coursed through him. "Now, I make no excuses for past sins. But in the one moment when you two could have chosen to stand by me - to believe in me - to believe my intentions for my own children were pure. You chose to stand against me, to side with my enemies. I wanted our home back. Now I have it. So I'm going to live there. And the two of you... you can stay here together... and rot." he looked at them with a look of disgust. "I don't need _you_." he approached Elijah, handing him the dagger and he accepted it cautiously.

Klaus walked past him and out of the house. Caroline and Hayley were sitting on the steps, he walked down them between the two and turned, holding out his hand to Caroline.

She accepted it allowing him to pull her to her feet.

Hayley glanced at their clasped hands and her lips twisted. "How sweet, you two worked things out while you left me in the bayou with Elijah while he suffered."

"Elijah had that coming," Caroline responded, she didn' care for Hayley's opinion of her and Klaus.

Klaus glared at Hayley. "You're coming with us, little wolf."

Hayley sneered up at him. "Why would I go anywhere with you?"

"Because, Hayley, other than Caroline, the children you carry are the only three things on this earth that matters to me. Now you can fight me on this, but you will lose." he released Caroline's hand and walked to the car, opening the door to the back seat. "As will anyone else who tries to stop you getting in this car."

Hayley stood reluctantly, glancing back at the house but heard neither Elijah or Rebekah coming to stop her. She shook her head and walked to the car, getting in the backseat.

Klaus shut the door then opened the front passenger side door. "You ready, Love?"

Caroline stepped toward the passenger seat but hesitated to get in, turning back to him in concern. "Are you okay?"

Klaus touched by her concern, some of his anger fading away in her presence. "I have you, don't I?"

Caroline smiled, stepping toward him she brushed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, you do." she turned climbing into the car and Klaus shut the door behind her before walking around the car. After he settled into the driver seat and started the car, he reached for Caroline's hand with his free one.

Hayley watched them silently with trepidation, Klaus and Caroline's closeness, their obvious connection, the physical displays, she couldn't help but worry that the closer they got the worse it would be for her if they ever found out the truth.

* * *

Caroline glanced around at her new room in the Abattoir, there was a large bed and a dresser made of rich red oak wood, there was a walk in closet that was huge, and it had a balcony view which she really liked.

She stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the city view.

"Will this do? Or would you prefer a different room?"

She turned, smiling at Klaus who stood behind her. "No, this is just fine. How are you after everything that happened with Elijah and Rebekah?"

"It's nothing I haven't experienced before. My family falling apart, turning on me has been a common occurrence for the last thousand years."

"Maybe," Caroline conceded, laying her hand on his arm. "But that doesn't mean it makes it any easier."

Klaus' eyes flickered away from her, the understanding look in her eyes making him feel things he wasn't used to. He was quiet for a moment before turning his gaze back to her. "Thank you for standing beside me, for being here."

Caroline smiled up at him. "Wow, Klaus Mikaelson, saying thank you to someone and actually meaning it."

Klaus couldn't hold back the small surprised laugh that escaped him.

Caroline liked the sound of his laugh, it sounded free and unburdened. "Okay, on a serious note. You don't have to thank me for being here, I," she gave a shake of her head. "I actually want to be here with you. When we were fighting side by side, I felt like you're equal, you know? I wasn't Vampire Barbie. I wasn't some baby vamp. I was strong. I was fearless."

"Caroline, you are strong and fearless." Klaus reached up cupping her neck. "And I do view you as my equal."

Caroline stared at him, his words meaning a lot to her, she pressed forward, her lips brushing against his.

Klaus stepped forward, pressing his lips harder against hers, one hand moving behind her to grip the balcony banister, the other sliding into her blonde locks, deepening the kiss.

He had always value Caroline's loyalty and now that she was showing him that same loyalty even if it was just a fraction of it, he promised himself he would make sure he was deserving of not only her loyalty but more importantly her, every day as long as she was at his side and he hoped she would be at his side for the rest of his immortal days.

* * *

 **A/N: Reviews are like food for the muse. Thank you to everyone who has ever left a review.**


	19. Chapter 19

T **he author notes:** This is not an update.

A lot of readers have expressed a want for me to follow all of canon, I was originally only going to follow canon for half of the first season. I'm considering changing what I originally had planned and writing all the seasons, well at least up to season four.

I also wanted to know your take on making Katherine and Stefan a bigger part of the story.

Please take the poll and let me know your opinion on the matter.

I'm not sure how this poll stuff works so if it's not up just let me know your opinion in a review.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I want to take a moment to discuss a few things regarding the story. One this story is not going to follow all of season one, I might use some of its themes but I'm going to veer away from canon when the truth about the babies is revealed.**

 **Secondly, Katherine and Stefan are going to have a bigger role to play in the story eventually.**

 **And last this is primarily a Klaroline story but the side pairings will be Stebekah and Kalijah.**

 **Warning: This chapter has SMUT.**

* * *

300 years ago, Klaus and his siblings helped build New Orleans. In their absence, a new king arose. Now Klaus returned and taken Marcel's kingdom as his own. Klaus had hoped this would bring his family together. He was wrong.

* * *

Caroline sat tensely at the head of the long dinner table in the courtyard of the compound. She felt like she was surrounded by enemies on all sides. Being surrounded by Marcel's inner circle around the table, it was reassuring to feel Klaus's presence just behind her, she glanced at Hayley at the opposite end of the table, not looking too pleased to be there.

Klaus reached around her, grabbing the fork next to her, calling for everyone's attention by tapping his glass with it. "Let us begin with a toast to our shared gift: immortality. After a thousand years, one might expect life to be less keenly felt, for its beauties and its sorrows do diminish with time. But, as vampires, we feel more deeply than humans could possibly imagine."

His hand landed on Caroline's shoulder and she glanced up at him, catching his eyes. "Some more than others."

Klaus pulled his gaze from her and gestured toward a group of waiters and waitresses and they stepped forward joining them at the table, one for each guest.

Caroline swallowed hard, she was slowly realizing sometimes bloodshed couldn't be avoided but that didn't mean she wanted to feed off of innocent people.

She looked down when Klaus's hand moved in front of her as he produced a glass, she could see was already filled with blood. She felt a small smile tug at her lips, appreciating that he knew she didn't wish to take part in drinking from innocents.

She accepted the glass, her fingers brushing against his.

Klaus faltered for a moment at the simple touch, before straightening his shoulders and focusing back on his speech. "Insatiable need, exquisite pain…"

The servants slit their wrists with knives, filling the cups with blood for the vampires.

"Our victories, and our defeats." Klaus continued, turning his gaze to Marcel.

When Marcel met his gaze he thought about the last time he saw Rebekah.

* * *

 _"You can't afford your wounded pride. With Klaus in control of your empire, you need to give him what he craves most: loyalty." Rebekah stressed. "Or, at least, the illusion of it."_

 _"I took his girl. I ambushed him, tried to bury him alive." Marcel pointed out. "He's not gonna trust me."_

 _"He will, because he wants your allegiance," Rebekah replied. "Speaking from my experience, I know that if you play the part, all is forgiven. But, if you give him any reason to doubt you, he will strike back." Rebekah took Marcel's hand in her own. "Make me a promise, Marcel. You will do whatever it takes to stay alive."  
_

* * *

"...To my city, my home again. May the blood never cease to flow…" said Klaus.

"...and the party never end!" Marcel finished.

Diego watched Marcel with judging eyes.

* * *

 _"I just don't get it, man. We would've stayed with you to the end." Diego argued, looking at Marcel like he couldn't possibly understand how his friend could have doubted how far they were willing to go. How far he was willing to go for him._

 _"Letting you do that would have been letting you die, and you're still my people," argued Marcel. "Now, just follow my lead. Trust me, it ain't over yet."_

 _Diego wanted to trust Marcel but he was no longer sure it was the right move._

* * *

Diego raised his glass. "To New Orleans."

"To New Orleans!" Klaus echoed, his voice echoing through the courtyard.

"To New Orleans," Caroline murmured looking at every face seated at the table. How the hell was she supposed to remember every vampire who came through here?

"New Orleans." everyone echoed, raising their glass, all drinking.

Caroline lifted her glass to her lips but the moment the blood touched her tongue, she had to bite down on her cheek and breathed deeply.

It wasn't human blood in her glass. It was Klaus's. She would know the taste of his blood anywhere.

She glanced at Klaus and saw him watching her, his lips tugging up into a tiny smirk and she quirked one perfect brow at him in response as if to say 'really?'.

His eyes only sparkled with mirth in response.

More than one throat cleared, pulled their attention away to see the occupants at the table, looking at Klaus expectantly.

Klaus cleared his throat, focusing back on all his guest. "I understand that some of you may have questions regarding the recent change in leadership, and I invited you here tonight to assure you that you are not defeated. No, my intentions moving forward are to celebrate what we have. What Marcel, in fact, took and built for this true community of vampires."

"What about her?" asked Diego, pointing toward Hayley. "The wolf?"

"Had you'd let me finish, Diego, you would know that there is, of course, one further matter I would like to address." he extended his arm, gesturing to Hayley at the opposite end of the table. "As many of you know, the girl is carrying my children. Consequently, I trust you will all pay her the appropriate respect. However, I understand that some of you are concerned by this vicious rumor that I intend to use the blood of our children to create hybrids. I assure you I do not."

Hayley smirked sarcastically. "Father of the year."

Every New Orleans vampire seated a the table looked highly doubtful.

"It appears I will have to earn your trust," Klaus commented, observing their lack of belief. "Very well, we'll eliminate the root of your anxiety. You see, how can I sire any hybrids if there are no more werewolves alive in the bayou to turn?"

Caroline's eyes widened as Hayley exclaimed. "What? Klaus, no!"

Klaus, however, ignored Hayley. "So- eat, drink and be merry. And, tomorrow, I suggest you have yourselves a little wolf hunt. Go ahead, have fun. Kill them all!" he smirked widely.

Caroline stood from her seat and Klaus turned to her questioningly. "A word, Klaus." she didn't wait for his response walking out of the room.

Klaus offered up a smile to his guests. "If you'll excuse us," he turned and followed after Caroline without question.

Marcel lips tugged up in amusement, he couldn't ever remember Klaus following around anyone but yet here he was following after Caroline without a single complaint.

* * *

Caroline led Klaus into his new required study and whirled around to face him as he shut the door behind them. "You can't just order a massacre to gain trust."

Klaus frowned. "It's not like I ordered them to kill a bunch of humans."

"No, you ordered them to kill wolves. Possibly Hayley's pack which makes them her people, her family, and your _children's_ family."

"I am all the family my children are ever gonna need," Klaus argued.

"Klaus." Caroline shook her head. "I need you to think about the far-reaching consequences," she took a step toward him her hands landing on his chest. "One day you're children might want to know more about the pack they came from. Do you really want to have to tell them that their own father had them wiped out?"

Klaus faltered. "This can't be about that. I can't think about that. Right now, we are surrounded by enemies, I need to remedy that. I need allies. _We_ need allies." his hands covered hers. "And to do that sacrifices have to be made and unfortunately the wolves have drawn the short stick. I value your opinion Caroline but I won't be swayed from my decision." he leaned forward pressing his lips to her forehead. "I can't have the vampires thinking I'm going to use the blood of my children to make myself a hybrid army. Trust that I know what I'm doing."

Caroline sighed. She wanted to argue further but he had a point they needed allies. Still, it didn't mean she had to like it or support it.

* * *

A blue truck was parked just outside the plantation house. Movers were packing up a large painting into the truck.

"Absolutely not, I paid for that!" Rebekah called out firmly to the worker.

"Please, you never paid for anything in your life." Said Elijah.

"I hardly see how that's relevant," replied Rebekah, turning to him. "Nik's just punishing us."

"Well, we've hurt him. Deeply, it would appear," said Elijah.

"We believed the worst about him, the one time in a million when the worst wasn't actually the truth." Argued Rebekah, believing they had been justified in their actions.

Elijah turned and started to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rebekah questioned, calling after him.

"To make sure Hayley doesn't suffer for our mistakes," answered Elijah. "Niklaus is feeling vindictive, we cannot trust that she is safe." he left the house and Rebekah glanced at the empty home around her with a frown.

* * *

Klaus stood talking where Cami was seated on the couch typing, transcribing his memoirs, their previous fight forgotten.

"And so then I bit Elijah and left him in the bayou with my hybrid venom in his veins. Serves him right, for making such vile accusations against me. And the way that he treats Caroline, it's unacceptable. And then…" He noticed Cami had stopped typing. "Are you taking this down?"

"To be clear: if the Quarter is yours now, you still need me why?" asked Cami.

"My memoirs." Klaus shot her a flat look. "A thousand years of history isn't going to write itself."

Approaching footsteps sounded and they both turned as Marcel walked in. The man looked at Cami in surprise, her presence there throwing him. "Cami. What are you doing here?"

Cami looked directly at Klaus. "My question exactly."

"Oh, it's quite alright," Klaus said dismissively to Marcel, for the moment ignoring Cami. "She knows."

"She does?" asked Marcel once again surprised.

"That you're vampires?" asked Cami. "Don't worry, he's compelled me to forget everything as soon as I leave. That way, I'm too busy agonizing over whether or not I'm losing my damn mind to realize I'm playing spy for an immortal egomaniac."

"You know, I actually talked to him about all the compelling but he deems it necessary," Caroline walked into the room. "He didn't listen to me."

Klaus smiled at her. "I heard you. I always hear you, love. I just didn't agree with you."

"There's a shocker," said Caroline, her lips tugging up in amusement.

Marcel chose to ignore the obvious flirting going on between Klaus and Caroline and focused on what suddenly had occurred to him. "You compelled her to go out with me, didn't you?" he asked knowingly before looking to Cami. "And I thought you really liked me."

"So did I." Responded Cami.

"I mean, to be clear, I only compelled you to give him a chance," Klaus told Cami. "Anything you felt for him was quite real."

Cami and Marcel exchanged confused glances unsure of what was real between them and what wasn't.

"...and for the record, the level of awkwardness we're all currently experiencing is entirely genuine," said Klaus as he moved closer to Caroline.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" Asked Cami glaring. "Compelling the poor naive bartender. Look what I found: real me, not your compelled therapist." she showed Klaua an old photo that looked to be from the early 1900s of him and Marcel.

"Actually I prefer "convenient stenographer...'" Klaus mused, unbothered by her anger.

"You think this is funny, messing with my mind?" Cami demanded angrily. "My sanity is not a joke!"

"No. I don't believe it is." Klaus replied, locking eyes with her, intending to compel her. "You never found this. You will remember nothing of our life as vampires when you leave here, do you understand?" Cami nodded dazedly. "I think that just about does it for the day. You may go." Klaus dismissed her and Cami took her things and left."

Marcel frowned after her.

"If you have feelings for Cami what were you doing with Rebekah?" Caroline wondered, bringing Marcel's attention to her.

Marcel frowned. "It's complicated. I'm not sure you would understand."

"And you think my history with Klaus, isn't complicated?" Caroline snorted. "Believe me, I know all about complicated relationships and conflicted feelings."

"I have a feeling our level of complicated differs." Marcel arched an eyebrow at her.

"Klaus came to my town, broke his curse by sacrificing someone I have been friends with since we were kids, his existence was the reason I was turned into a vampire, he terrorized my town, turned my werewolf boyfriend at the time into a hybrid who is now my ex-boyfriend not to mention he had that same boyfriend bite me. Hell, he bit me once." Caroline leveled him with a look. "I know complicated relationships."

Marcel looked at her in slight amusement and wonder. "And here I thought you had no idea the monster that Klaus is, yet you stand beside him?"

Caroline considered him for a moment. "I know who Klaus is. I've always known who he is but I choose to look for the best in him even when its buried deep, _deep_ down beneath everything that makes him who he is to everyone else."

Marcel was unsure how to respond to that and instead remained silent regarding her closely.

* * *

Hayley looked around, making sure she was still alone. She didn't need anyone knowing she was sneaking out through the backyard of the Abbatoir.

She looked behind her again uneasy but no one was following her, she turned back around and she nearly jumped out of her skin as a figure cut in front of her.

"Going somewhere?" asked Diego.

Hayley opened her mouth to reply but hands wrapped around Diego's neck before those same hands threw the vampire into the wall.

Hayley stared at Elijah in a mixture of relief and trepidation. "Elijah, you shouldn't be here. Klaus has his guys watching me."

"I wouldn't worry about them," Elijah commented dismissively as two thuds sounded and she turned to see Rebekah taking down two other vampires who had been hidden around the corner. "Come, we mustn't linger." he took her gently by the arm. "We'll get you someplace safe."

"No, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine." Hayley pulled her hand from his grasp. "I've been deemed under protection by the almighty Klaus. It's the werewolves who need help. He ordered a wolf hunt as some jacked-up peace offering to Marcel's crew. You have to help them."

"Out in the bayou?" Rebekah questioned, sending Hayley an annoyed look. "Do we look like a bloody vampire-rescue-squad? I think you should be grateful we came to save you!"

"Listen. Rebekah," said Hayley. "All my life, I've wanted to know who my real family was, and just as I find out that they're out there in the bayou, Klaus orders them killed. You wanna help me? Help my people. Please." she pleaded.

* * *

Klaus stepped back into the room just as Caroline turned to leave Marcel on his own.

"Love, where are you going?" Klaus asked his hand, gently landing on her arm.

"I'm gonna leave you and Marcel to your business," Caroline responded. "Maybe, I'll see what the French Quarter has to offer."

"You will," Klaus said. "I was hoping to spend the day with you."

Caroline's brow furrowed. "Don't you have things you need to do now that you have the city?"

"Now that we have the city." Klaus corrected. "I want you at my side through all of it."

"Oh." Caroline's eyes fluttered in surprise.

"If you want to be that is." Klaus' finger grazed her inner wrist.

Caroline smiled at his attentiveness. "Alright, so what's on the agenda."

"Well first, we have a meeting with Marcel." He slipped a hand around her back and led her over to a room where there was a table set up, he motioned Marcel to follow.

Marcel hesitated he had watched Caroline and Klaus's exchange and he was thrown by how different Klaus was with the blonde compared to how he was with everyone else, including his own family.

Klaus pulled out a chair for Caroline and she took a seat and he scooted her chair into the table before taking the seat next to her, and looked to Marcel, waving him over. "Have a seat."

After a brief moment, Marcel took a seat opposite Klaus. "The humans have called a meeting. They're not exactly thrilled with the new status quo."

"Why would they be?" asked Caroline. "No one ever likes change and the fact that an Original is now running things, I'm sure doesn't help their concerns."

"How unfortunate for them," Klaus commented.

"Look, it's your show now," said Marcel. "But you wanna know how I built what I built? Politics. A little diplomacy goes a long way, especially with the human faction."

Caroline snorted, drawing both their gazes to her. "I'm sorry," she glanced at Klaus. "But the idea of you being diplomatic is laughable."

"Duly noted." Klaus looked at the photo that Cami found of him and Marcel from the year 1919. "I haven't thought about this night in ages. 1919, the opera house, just before it burned. This was the end of an era. Now, in the interest of new beginnings, I feel that there are some things I should probably confess to you. But…" He grabbed a glass of alcohol. "Where to begin?"

"Thierry was never disloyal to you, I set him up in an attempt to locate my brother. He's your friend, and consequently, he can return to the compound at your discretion. Cami's part, you just learned." Klaus listed off his deceits. "And then, there's young Joshua. I've been compelling him from the beginning, although I suspect you already knew that, as he was the one who led me into your trap."

"I may have fed the kid some information, nothing more," Marcel admitted, not wanting Klaus to kill an innocent kid vampire or not.

"And then there's Davina. She's a powerful weapon. At this point, I'd like to keep her close at hand. I think we-"

"Hold on a second." Caroline interrupted. "Davina's the teenage witch, right?"

"Yes, correct, love," Klaus answered, looking at her expectantly sure she interrupted him for a reason.

"She's not a weapon, Klaus, she's just a kid who's been screwed over by the witches of New Orleans, she doesn't need you acting as if you own her simply because you want to use her power."

"Caroline now is not the time to be high on morals. Sometimes, here in New Orleans, you're going have to do things you otherwise wouldn't."

"I know that but I'm never going to be okay with seeing a young girl as a weapon." She sent him a pointed glare. "As far as Davina is concerned we're going to have to agree to disagree."

Klaus heaved a sigh turning his focus back to Marcel who was watching the back and forth between them with slight amusement. "We should have her move into the compound here with us."

Caroline's brow furrowed if Davina lived there she could keep a protective eye on her. She may have accepted her feelings for Klaus but she still knew his flaws, she accepted them but that didn't mean she couldn't interfere on Davina's behalf.

"She can't leave the attic," Marcel said, his voice pulling her from her thoughts. "I already tried to move her once."

"Yes, about that... Turns out, your little witch is quite the actress." Klaus informed Marcel. "She made a deal with Elijah while he was in captivity, tricked you into letting her stay put in exchange for some spells from our mother's grimoire."

Marcel nodded bitterly. "Good to know. Is that all?"

"I do believe it is," said Klaus with a decisive nod.

"I appreciate the honesty," said Marcel.

"A rare occurrence from the Mikaelsons." Caroline quipped.

Despite himself, Marcel found his lips ticking up into a smile as Klaus sent Caroline a mock glare, she only smiled back at him in response.

Klaus took a drink from his glass, eyes never leaving Caroline.

Marcel cleared his throat and Klaus slowly turned his eyes to him. "Meeting's in an hour," Marcel told him, getting up and leaving.

Klaus returned his gaze back to Caroline, setting his glass on the table.

"That went better than I expected, considering how you got the reigns of the city," Caroline commented.

"I suppose it did," he notices her bangs had fallen in front of her face, and he reached out brushing it back behind her ear, his thumb skimming her cheek. "Enough about Marcel." he leaned forward brushing his mouth against hers.

Caroline leaned forward her hand curling around his neck, enjoying the simple kiss.

* * *

Marcel watched as Davina stood with her back to him, painting. "You're gonna love it at the compound. I already got the best room in the place picked out."

"I can't leave!" Davina protested. "Remember what happened last time?"

"I know about your deal with Elijah," Marcel told her in disapproval of her deceit. "We can't be lying to each other. I'm trying to protect you. With the witches still looking to kill you for the Harvest, believe me, you're safest with us."

"New Orlean witches suck," Caroline walked into the room, Klaus right beside her. She took in the young witch. She looked even younger than Caroline imagine she would. "No offense to you of course. Hi, you must be Davina. I'm Caroline."

Davina looked from her to Klaus. "You're with him?" her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you his wife?"

Caroline laughed. "Definitely not a wife but I am with him."

"I like to think of Caroline more as my Queen." his eyes turned to Davina's paintings and he stepped closer to get a better look at them. "I see you're an artist. Wonderful! I look forward to witnessing your many talents!"

Davina turned to Marcel, glaring. "Was this his idea?"

"Davina, please. I understand you're devoted to Marcel, but Marcel is devoted to me. I assume you'll want what's best for all of us." Klaus walked over to Marcel.

"Okay, enough." Caroline cut a look at Klaus. "This can't be about what's best for everyone. This needs to be what's best for her." Caroline turned to Davina. "Look, I am not going to stand here and lie to you and say that moving you out of here is all about you. Klaus wants you close. You're powerful and he sees you as a weapon but you'll be protected from the witches and from my own experiences their a bigger threat. It would be better if you were at the compound and once all this harvest business is taken care of, you can go wherever you want. Move on with your life."

Davina watched her. "You really think, it's going to be that easy, that simple?"

"No," Caroline answered. "But it's something to fight for. Don't you want your life back?"

Davina didn't know Caroline and her instinct was to distrust but the blonde just seemed so genuine. "Yes."

Klaus walked over to Caroline placing his hand on Caroline's lower back. "We have a meeting to attend downstairs."

Marcel nodded.

"All I'm saying is do what is best for you," Caroline told Davina before allowing Klaus to lead her out.

"You have quite the way with words, love," Klaus commented, as they walked from the attic.

"Its called being honest." Caroline returned teasingly. "There are better ways of doing things than using intimidation."

"I'll leave those ways to you," Klaus responded as they disappeared from the room.

Marcel turned to Davina. "I'll get someone to pick up your things. We'll get you settled in right. Trust me." He turned and headed back downstairs to join Klaus and Caroline for the meeting.

Davina watched him go, casting a sad look around her room.

* * *

Father Kieran lifted his head and took notice of Klaus and Marcel and a blonde he recognized from when she came to the church with Rebekah. He believed her name was Caroline.

"Klaus, Marcel, thank you for coming." he greeted. "We are aware of the change in the leadership in your community, and we thought it was time to make the appropriate introductions."

The meeting was being held in a back room of St. Anne's church, several men were seated around a table.

"Who is the blonde?" The Sheriff asked standing up and the Mayor followed suit.

"Caroline Forbes." Klaus leveled him with a murderous look. "And you will treat her with the same respect you would me."

The Mayor didn't much care who the blonde girl was instead he focused on Klaus. "We wanna be sure you understand how things work around here."

"Is that so?" Klaus asked the Mayor, his audacity rubbing him the wrong way.

The Mayor nodded, not noticing the dangerous look in Klaus's eye.

"What the Mayor means is that we just want some insurance that this new development isn't going to endanger our city or its inhabitants." Father Kieran explained, speaking directly to Klaus.

"Look, you freaks do your thing, and we'll look the other way." The sheriff told the three vampires in the room. Caroline glowered and Klaus looked at Marcel as the Sheriff continued to speak. "As long as our pockets stay full, we won't have a problem."

Father Kieran shot a disappointed look at the members of the council and tried to backtrack, wanting to keep things as civil as possible. "More importantly, there are rules," he spoke to Klaus. "No feeding on the locals, don't bring any unwanted attention to the city. History has proven that we can co-exist peacefully. However, if you cross the line…"

"You answer to us." The Sheriff told Klaus interrupting Kieran.

Caroline raised one eyebrow at the Sheriff, either the man was stupid or he didn't know who Klaus was. Not many people lived to see another day after speaking to him like that.

Klaus laughed loudly. "Okay... I'm sorry, let me get this straight- I'm to play supplicant to this pompous ass and his ridiculous group of petty thieves?" He sighed dramatically, shaking his head, he walked toward the Sheriff and Mayor. "Here are my terms: You will take whatever scraps I see fit to leave you, and you will be grateful. If that doesn't suit you, I may decide you've outlived your usefulness." Klaus held his hand out to Caroline. "C'mon, Love."

Caroline accepted his hand, falling into step with him. "The council here seems more corrupt than the one back home," she commented.

The Sheriff watched angrily as Klaus and Caroline walked down the aisle to take their leave.

Marcel followed, annoyance feeling him at Klaus's action. He was never going to run the city properly if he couldn't learn to compromise with the humans.

* * *

Klaus' and Marcel's vampire crew were deep in the werewolf encampment of the bayou not far from the lake nearby, they violently tore through the camp in search of wolves to kill.

"Hey, they're obviously here. Fan out, find 'em, and bring me some heads!" Diego commanded the vampires he was leading.

"I'd rather you didn't." Elijah appeared just meters away from Diego, Rebekah at his side.

"The hell are you doing out here?" asked Diego.

"I've come to suggest you seek other hunting grounds," replied Elijah diplomatically.

Diego shrugged. "Suggestion noted…" he said but he had no real intention of taking the suggestion to heart.

Rebekah walked up to him. "Oh Diego, it would be such a shame to have to rearrange that pretty face." She pulled her arm back but Diego grabbed her arm, stopping her fist from slamming into his face.

"What the hell do you care about wolves?" Diego asked her, releasing her arm and pushing it away from him.

"Generally, I don't," Elijah responded candidly. "However, this particular clan is not to be touched." he paused for just a moment. "Goodbye."

Rebekah smiled sweetly at Diego, whispering. "Bye."

"Nothing here anyway," Diego called out to his vampires. He whistled, motioning to his guys that they were going and the werewolf hunting party followed him as he led them out of the wolf encampment.

"Ah, great," said Rebekah pleased. "I think as well our job here is done."

Elijah stopped sensing something, someone nearby. "Not quite." he vamp sped away, appearing in front of the vaguely familiar woman, Eve, she stood by a tree, waiting. "We're not here to harm you," Elijah assured her. "Hello, again. Eve, was it?"

"One of Hayley's litter-mates, I presume?" asked Rebekah, looking at the woman.

"Hayley sent you here to protect us, didn't she?" Eve asked knowingly. "Tell her we appreciate the concern, but we've been looking out for ourselves for a while now. Nobody finds us unless we wanna be found."

"Well, we found you, so…" Rebekah said, her tone filled with condescension.

"Like I said," said Eve. "There's something I thought you and your family should know about." she started walking along a path, fully expecting the two originals to follow her, she had a map and stake in her hands.

Elijah and Rebekah shared a look before following after Eve.

* * *

Caroline and Klaus walked into a bar Klaus said Marcel frequented. "There he is," said Caroline, spotting Marcel sitting at a table alone.

"Why don't you go and join him, I'll be there in just a moment," Klaus suggested.

Caroline nodded and walked over to Marcel's seat, taking the seat across from him. "Hope you don't mind if I join you."

"Looks like you're already making yourself comfortable." he straightened in his seat. "I appreciate what you said to Davina."

Caroline gave a shrug. "I was only being honest. If it isn't obvious I don't exactly approve of a teenage girl no matter how powerful being seen as a weapon."

"Oh, you made your opinion known, love." Klaus settled in the seat next to her, settling a bottle of whiskey on the table in front of them. "About meeting with the humans, I think it goes far more gracious than they deserved."

Marcel stared at Klaus falling silent as he poured the three of them drinks. "You're disappointed by my lack of diplomacy," Klaus noted. "You out of all people should need no reminder of the human capacity for cruelty."

Marcel continued to remain quiet.

Klaus' phone buzzed and he rose from his chair to answer it. "Hello?"

" _Mr. Mikaelson._ " The Sheriff's voice sounded on the other line. _"I just wanted to let you know that the faction's considered your terms. We've reached a decision_."

"Have you?" asked Klaus, not really caring what decision they reach because they would fall in line rather they wanted to or not.

An explosion sounded from outside, the ground shook slightly. It was quickly followed by the sound of gunfire, glass shattering, the windows blown in, shards of glass flying everywhere, sunlight piercing into the local vampire bar.

Vampires in the bar were hit by the gunfire, some bursting into flames when the light of the sun hit them, not fortunate enough to have a daylight ring.

Screams of pain and agony filled the air.

Marcel saw some of his guys around him collapse from being hit, from burning. He rushed to save one of the burning vampires, Klaus moved to help him, and Caroline went to help one of the ones hit with bullets.

Marcel felt a sharp pain throughout his body before he could reach the burning vampire, bullet after bullet tearing through his body. Klaus felt the same pain but he gritted his teeth against the onslaught of bullets.

Marcel collapsed, falling to the floor in pain but Klaus barely noticed, all he could focus on was the awful sound of Caroline crying out in pain as she was hit with a barrage of bullets. Her cries pierced his ears, tearing at his chest, the sound of her pain doing more damage to him than the bullets had.

His eyes shined amber and he saw red, immediately furious, he rushed to her covering her body with her own shielding her from further pain.

Anger rushed through him as he hovered above Caroline, her face twisted in discomfort, eyes shining with pain.

How dare they cause her any sort of pain.

How dare they hurt _Caroline_!

* * *

Klaus kept Caroline close, she breathed heavily. When the attack had ended he had to remove wooden bullets from her abdomen. He hated causing her pain, seeing her cry out but it had to be done.

Klaus ripped into his wrist and held it out to her. "Drink. It will help you heal faster."

Caroline's fingers curled around his wrist, her mouth closing over his blood and drinking deeply the moment she tasted his blood on her tongue.

Klaus ran his hand down her hair, in a soothing motion before wrapping his arm around her shoulder, holding her close.

Marcel looked at them for just a moment, anger surging through him, the vampire bar was empty besides the three of them after the explosion and the gunfire.

The room was destroyed and in complete disarray. Destroyed furniture, broken glass, burnt skeletons, and desiccated vampires littered the floor around them.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Marcel flipped a table over, enraged.

Caroline release Klaus's wrist, licking his blood from her lips and stood, Klaus's arm was wrapped firmly around her waist as if he was trying to steady her.

She shook her head at him, silently telling him she could stand on her own.

"This is on you!" Marcel whirled on Klaus suddenly. "Now that you're in charge, these are your guys laying dead. Your guys."

"You think I care about them when Caroline was hurt?! Do you?!" Klaus demanded. "Because if you do you are sorely mistaken."

"I think what Marcel here is trying to say is that I can't be the only one you care about. I'm not the only person in this city." Caroline interjected, wanting to ward off the storm brewing in Klaus.

Klaus wanted to argue that her life was the only life besides his children that mattered. However, he bit the words back.

"You're gonna run this city, that better mean something to you, otherwise no one worth a damn is gonna follow you." Marcel snapped. "No one!"

"I was beginning to worry about you," Klaus said when Marcel turned away. "I don't think I could've taken any more of this differential nonsense. I mean clearly I underestimated the faction, that won't happen again. But, tell me: Now that we've arrived to this point, now that they have come into our home, visited this upon our people, hurt the ones we care about… How would you counsel me to respond?"

Caroline had a feeling Klaus was only asking out of courtesy to Marcel. She knew that no matter the answer Marcel gave Klaus would make the city's council pay.

"Let's go kill them all," said Marcel.

Klaus looked to Caroline. "Are you with us, Love?"

If Caroline wanted to sit this one out he wouldn't object. If she couldn't bring herself to hurt humans even ones that had wronged her then he would do it for her.

He would be her sword.

Caroline thought of the council and how they only seemed to care about filling their pockets and nothing more. Vampires died because of them. She could have died.

She raised her eyes to Klaus. "I'm with you."

* * *

Eve led Elijah and Rebekah to where she was set up by the lake and was showing them a map of the surrounding bayou. "Surrounded by 20,000 acres of swamp, the ones born here who now know it like the backs of our hands, will be fine. But here," Eve pointed at the map with her stake. "newcomers from out of state - not of Hayley's and my kin. But, word's spread about those babies of hers. A lot of werewolves wanna see this miracle pregnancy for themselves. Only now, the vampires are out looking for blood, and all these werewolves new at the bayou might not know where to hide."

"You say that like we're supposed to care," Rebekah responded. Why would they care about wolves?

"Believe me, you're gonna want them kept alive," Eve said with certainty.

"And why is that?" asked Elijah.

"See for yourself," said Eve. It would be better if they saw for themselves rather than just taking her for her word. At least this way they would have no reason not to believe her.

* * *

Davina walked into the Compound's garage. "I know you're in here, Josh. I can sense your fear."

Josh moved out from behind a car. "I heard you're moving in."

Davina smiled at the sight of her friend. "What are you doing in here?"

"You might've known," Josh said as he reached for her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. One Davina returned instantly.

"You know, incognito," said Josh, releasing her. "Gotta run for the hills, but I'm stuck here until it gets dark."

"Are you okay?" asked Davina in concern.

"Yeah, yeah…" Josh started to lie but then thought what was the point. Davina was his friend. "Not really. I mean, totally led Klaus into a trap that was the most epic fail of all time, so yeah, kinda crapping my pants right now, figuratively. So far."

"It's okay. You can trust Marcel." Davina told him. "And if Klaus tries to hurt you - I'll hurt him."

Haley stepped into the garage, having picked up in their voices. "I'm sure if you could actually stop Klaus, you would've done it already."

"You're Hayley. Klaus's mistress," said Davina.

"Ew, no." Hayley's face scrunched up in disgust. "Never. I'm the pregnant werewolf. That is more of a title suited to Caroline. And you must be all-powerful superwitch, Davina? And let's not forget Josh, newbie vampire way out of his element, voted "Most Likely to Die Next.""

"Fantastic." Josh nodded nervously.

"Hey. I'm just another one of Klaus' prisoners," said Hayley. "Of course, it would suck if he found out you're still lurking around. Maybe there's a world where we can all look out for each other?"

Davina crossed her arms over her chest, moving to stand in front of Josh defensively. "That sounds like blackmail. You know, I met Caroline today. I think I like her better than you."

"You don't even know me," Hayley protested defensively.

"And after speaking with you I don't want to know you." Davina retorted and Hayley clenched her jaw.

* * *

Cami rushed to the door when she heard a knock cut through the air. When she pulled her front door open it reveal her uncle. "I called you hours ago!"

"I came as fast as I could. What's going on?" asked Kieran walking into her apartment. "Your voicemail sounded…"

"What!? Paranoid?" Cami interrupted him abruptly. "Unhinged?"

Father Kieran hesitated. "Upset."

"That picture I found. The one that was.. I don't know, a hundred years old. You said it was just a coincidence. But…" She grabbed her phone and pressed play and suddenly Camille's own voice and Klaus's came over the line.

"'My sanity is not a joke.'"

"No, love, I don't believe it is."

Cami's eyes fill with tears. "...that's my voice! But I don't remember it. I think it's... I think it's some kind of mind-control, he's erasing my memory!"

Father Kieran's phone rang suddenly and he quickly answered it. "Yes? They what?" a look of concern came over him and he quickly hung up, looking at Cami. "We will talk about this later." He walked past Cami, leaving her apartment in a hurry.

* * *

"Why wasn't I consulted on this?" Father Kieran demanded upon arriving at the city council meeting where it was being held at Rosseau's.

"You've been gone for over eight months, Kieran." The Mayor reminded. "We got used to doing things on our own."

"This Klaus Mikaelson, I don't care who he is or what the rumors say. He needed to be taught a lesson." said the Sheriff, believing what they had done was the right choice.

"You are gonna start a war!" Kieran exclaimed, not understanding how they could be so stupid.

"I'd like to see them try." The Sheriff replied. "Oh, and Kieran, this is the last time you call a meeting. Next time you wanna criticize our leadership, send a damn email."

Father Kieran forehead creased in a look of confusion. "I thought you called this meeting...?"

"The hell we did." The Sheriff bit out.

"Actually, I called it." Klaus entered the room, Caroline and Marcel on either side of him. "It appears I made a grave error during our earlier conference. My friend Marcel offered me wise counsel, and I failed to heed it."

"I'm glad to hear you've learned your lesson." The Sheriff replied, smugly feeling superior that a vampire with Klaus reputation was backing down to him.

"Oh, I won't be making that mistake again." Klaus turned his head to Caroline. "Love, take your pick. Who should be the first to go?"

"What?" The Mayor's gaze snapped to Caroline.

Caroline looked from the Sheriff to The Mayor. The Sheriff was clearly a smug entitled asshole but it was the Mayor who was meant to do what was in the city's best interest but the only interest he was concerned with was his own.

She flashed behind the mayor, her hands gripping his head and twisted it violently, the bones breaking. She shoved him forward his body hitting table, slumping forward.

Klaus smirked, his eyes never leaving her as he said. "Marcel."

Marcel vamp sped to the Sheriff, stabbing him through the neck, coating his hands in blood. Marcel grinned, content with what he just did, watching the Sheriff bleed out as screams filled the air.

Caroline looked around her. She didn't relish causing fear and panic but if she was honest with the darkest part of herself. It had felt good taking the life of The Mayor and knowing the kind of man he was made it easier.

Klaus approached Caroline, smiling. He hadn't been sure if she would be able to kill any of the council members but when she did he couldn't explain it he felt proud. It was like watching her starting to embrace the vampire she was.

"There are still many more corrupt humans to exact revenge on." He held his hand out to her. "Shall we...?"

Caroline looked down at his hand and then raised her eyes back to his. She kept her eyes locked with his as she placed her hand in his. "Lead the way."

Klaus smirked and looked to Marcel expectantly.

Marcel waved his arm out. "After you!"

* * *

Caroline threw her head back, the blood coursing down her throat. Warm, sweet and delicious. It was rare when she allowed herself to actually drink from the vein but it was so much better than bagging it.

She took comfort from knowing that the person she was feeding on was not a good person and lessen her guilt from indulging in some of her darker vampire urges.

Klaus withdrew his fangs from the neck of a woman he had drained, allowing her body to drop as he watched Caroline, enjoying the sight of her, eyes blackened and red, veins on the apple of her cheeks, blood coating the corner of her lip.

Klaus could hear Marcel feeding off a body not too far away and he heard approaching footsteps but he pushed it all away only having eyes for Caroline at that moment.

Overwhelmed with the urge to be closer to her, touch her. seeing her embrace being a vampire had his blood running hot. A surge of want for her alone coursing through him.

He stepped over a dead body, approaching her.

Caroline felt his eyes on her and looked up as he drew closer. She pushed the man she had been feeding on away and looked directly at Klaus, seeing the way his blue eyes had darkened with want had her skin prickling with awareness.

She waited as he moved directly in front of her. His body so close to her own that all she would have to do is take one tiny step and she would be pressed against him.

Klaus focused on the blood, coating her lips. He placed his hand against her cheek and Caroline closed her eyes, feeling her skin heat up at the simple touch.

The feel of his thumb swiping across her bottom lip had her eyes opening slowly darken with lust, watching as he sucked his thumb into his mouth cleaning off the blood. "Klaus."

He stepped forward his hands reaching out to frame her face, his body surging forward as he crushed his lips to hers, his tongue slipping into her mouth tasting the blood on her tongue.

Caroline moaned as he plundered her mouth, his hands twisting in her hair, she slid her hand up to the back of his neck, fisting it his hair, arching her back and pressing her chest against his, wanting every inch of her body pressed against his.

Klaus groaned and Caroline relished in the sound, knowing it was because of her.

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor had Caroline pulling away from Klaus and she saw Kieran looking around at all the dead bodies littering the floor.

Klaus turned slowly releasing Caroline, pushing his current lust away and turned to the Father.

"There he is. Our lone survivor. Such a sad day for our city." Klaus approached Kieran patting the man on the shoulder. "Some of its best and brightest killed in a tragic boating accident on the Mississippi. Rather nasty explosion, I heard." He looked Kieran directly in the eyes. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Okay, hold up." Marcel stood up and held his hand out for Klaus to not doing anything rash. "I've know Kieran for a long time. He's smart and he's fair. I think he can do us more good alive than dead."

Caroline stepped forward, placing her hand on Klaus's arm, she didn't want Klaus killing the priest any more than Marcel did. He at least seemed to care about the people of this city, unlike his now dead associates.

"Not to mention he's Cami's uncle," Marcel added.

"And I'm supposed to care about that why?" Klaus glared. "Why should he get off scot-free after what the council pulled?"

"Because he had no hand in hurting, Caroline," Marcel responded, earning a look from Klaus. "You've made it pretty clear that's not a line to be crossed. plus, I don't see you caring about much. It's impossible not to nice how much you do care about her."

"It's not like I was killed in their attack." Caroline interrupted.

Klaus's eyes shot to her. "Don't talk like that." He couldn't even think about the possibility of her death.

"All I really meant was that Father Kieran did not play a part in the attack and should not be punished for something that he had no hand in." Caroline insisted, leveling Klaus with one of her looks.

Klaus nodded, turning his eyes back to the Father, "Very well. Use this reprieve to remake your human faction."

"And how do you expect me to remake the Mayor?" Father Kieran demanded.

"Well, surely there's a deputy Mayor," Klaus suggested. "Choose new leaders. Then we'll re-open negotiations." he held his hand to Caroline and the moment she placed her hand in his, he linked his fingers with hers and led her out.

* * *

Rebekah looked around the werewolf encampments. "All these wolves really travel in style, don't they?"

Elijah ignored her snide remark and opened the door to a trailer. "Empty."

"Piled on the pavement, perhaps," Rebekah suggested.

"So, proceed then," Elijah told her, they needed to find Hayley's wolves. He told her he would. He gave her his word.

"Let's not, and tell Hayley that we did," Rebekah told him. "Then, you get to impress the girl, and I can go home. You know how hovels depress me. "

Elijah smiled slightly. "I'm not trying to impress the girl."

"I should bloody hope you are, why else are we out here?" Rebekah demanded however Elijah remained silent. "Come on, Elijah! You've fallen for her, admit it. May do wonders for the stick that's lodged up your enduringly stoic arse if you did."

Elijah smiled. It's true that he felt something for Hayley but he wouldn't say it was love not when Katerina was never far from his thoughts. "If I admit to you that it's complicated, would that suffice? Or, are you determined to torment me throughout this endeavor?"

Rebekah was about to respond but a noise nearby caught their attention, turning to find that the hunting party had returned. Diego the one leading the charge of vampires had his fangs sunk into the neck of a werewolf. Elijah vamp-sped over to Diego and pulled his head backward by his hair. "Darling, we need to stop meeting like this. This is how rumors begin!" He released Diego, placing himself between Diego and the werewolf. "You can go now."

Diego glared at him, not moving. The Originals and their superior attitude grating on his nerves.

"Perhaps I'm not making myself clear here." Elijah's voice hardened when Diego did not make a move to do as he ordered. "This is a threat. In precisely three minutes' time, your little hunting party will become the prey. Now, based on your recent failure to subdue my baby brother Niklaus, this, despite a better than a 100-to-1 advantage. I recommend you heed my warning."

Diego with a look of frustration and embarrassment turned to his guys, motioning for them to follow him as he leaves with them in tow.

"Impressive." Rebekah complimented, smirking at Elijah.

"Well, I thought the situation demanded something a little dramatic," Elijah responded, good-naturedly.

The werewolf, Diego had been feeding on groaned in pain on the ground. He slowly pushed to his feet. "Who are you people?"

Elijah's eyes focused on a ring on a necklace around the wolfs neck with keened interest. "I would say the better question is: Who are you?"

* * *

Klaus produced a flask, taking a drink, looking at Marcel he said. "To our united front! This act of yours, the imitation of friendship. Don't get me wrong, you played the part well enough, I should know, having played it myself. There was a time when the affinity between us was quite real."

Caroline looked between the two men, the tension between them a mix between hostile and civil.

"Sure. And then you got it in your head to take what I created." Marcel said pointedly. "When I picked up that coin I swore loyalty, Klaus, not friendship. I'm holding up my end, the other one has to be earned."

"This is probably none of my business, then again I have a habit of butting into other people's business with the intention to help," Caroline interjected. "How do you expect him to earn your friendship if you won't even give him the chance to do so? Besides, it's not like you know the whole story."

Marcel's forehead creased in obvious confusion. "What's she talking about?"

"My decision was not entirely my own." Klaus elaborated. "If I didn't agree to usurp your power, the witches swore to kill my unborn children and Caroline. To be honest, the threat on Caroline's life was the deciding factor." Klaus looked at Caroline with a small smile. "I would do anything to ensure her safety." he turned his eyes back to Marcel. "The promise of offspring meant little to me however I recalled my father; how he held me in contempt from the moment I was born. As yours did with you. I will not do to my children what was done to me. To us." He drank deeply from the glass.

"All this - the spying, the manipulation - that's just something you were forced into. Is that it?" Marcel asked. "And what now? You feel kinda bad... "Hey buddy, it's nothing personal." Is that it?"

"I admit. I was jealous." Klaus confessed. "I saw the empire you had created on your own, without me. I saw it - and I wanted it."

"You're wrong, you know. I didn't do it on my own." Marcel told him. "I stood in the shadow of my father my entire human life, and I never would've gotten out from under it, if not for you. You're the one who taught me that a man can't be defined by anyone but himself." he paused, it was hard to admit he owed Klaus anything, still he continued. "So, what now?"

"This community that you've built - you have their respect. Their love." Klaus said. "I could rule them but I cannot win them, not without you. So rule with me. Side by side as equals. Friends. Brothers."

Klaus raised the bottle in an offering. Marcel looked at him, consider his offer and after a tense moment he accepted, taking a drink from it." Klaus smiled cheerfully in response, seeing it as Marcel accepting his offer.

* * *

Hayley walked into the living room, her eyes glaring at the man seated on the couch reading a book. "Those werewolves you ordered killed, that's my family."

"Not for long, love. I mean, this so-called family of yours, they haven't done you much good, have they?" Klaus looked up from his book but she avoided his gaze. "You said it yourself: they abandoned you and left you on your own. Now it's simply your turn to do the same."

"Maybe they had their reasons." Hayley defended, wanting to believe that the family she wanted to reunite with so bad wanted her just as much.

Klaus tossed his book away angrily, standing up abruptly. "Yes, while I have reasons, too, little wolf. If the werewolves are dead, then the vampires have less desire to kill you. I am trying to keep my children safe. Not that you appreciate the effort when that includes you."

"And as soon as I have these babies, what happens to me then?" Hayley demanded. God, she hoped before than with Sophie's help she would get out of here. Disappear, never to be found by Klaus. She should have gotten tips from Katherine on how to evade him for the rest of her life.

Klaus stared at her, his silence answer enough for Hayley. He would no longer have a use for her and she would be lucky if all he did was send her away.

"Right…" Hayley said after a long moment. "Well, lucky for me I have a little while before I find out," she smirked bitterly. "And in the meantime, I will find a way to pay you back for this. As long as I'm in the family, as long as I carry your children inside me you can't do a damn thing about it." she turned on her heel, storming back out of the room.

Klaus glared at her retreating back, cursing the fact that he had to knock her up of all people. A thousand years of Karma was coming back to bite him in the ass in epic fashion.

* * *

Hayley walked into Davina's new bedroom, she didn't bother knocking and saw the young girl searching through a cardboard box. "What are you looking for?"

"My violin," Davina answered. "It must be left in the attic."

"So, just go get it," Hayley told her.

"I can't. It's not safe for me out there," said Davina, as long as the elders were out there she would always be in danger.

"Funny, I was under the impression everyone was afraid of you." Hayley mused.

"The witches are after me," replied Davina, defensively.

"You mean that crazy witch, Agnes?" asked Hayley. "Yeah, she tried to kill me too. The thing is, she's dead. Klaus killed her."

Davina looked at her in disbelief. "But.. Agnes was the last living Elder. If she's dead, then I'm safe. Marcel would've told me."

"Maybe he didn't wanna lose his secret weapon against the witches?" Hayley suggested.

"You're lying." Davina accused. She wasn't just a weapon to Marcel. He cared about her. He wanted her happy.

"Why would I lie to you?" Hayley asked her.

"Because you want something from me." Davina glared. "Everyone does."

"Do I want something from you...?" asked Hayley rhetorically. "Yeah, Davina, actually I do. Thanks to your friend Marcel, most of my family is cursed. They're stuck in their wolf form, except on a full moon. Now, I'm smart enough to know that every curse has a loophole. And, well, you're the strongest witch I've ever heard of. But I wouldn't lie to you to get what I want. I'd ask you. I guess that's the difference between Marcel and me." Hayley turned away, walking out of the room, hoping her words had an effect on Davina. She needed all the allies she could get.

Davina watched her leave unsure of what to think anymore.

"Looking for something?" Josh asked walking into the room and Davina smiled when she saw he brought Tim's violin with him. "I figured with you vacating, the attic would be a safe zone. Found this there."

"It was dangerous for you to come back, Josh," Davina told him in concern.

"Yeah, well... What are friends for? Or whatever." Josh replied and Davina laughed gently. "Hey, what did Hayley want?"

"Do you trust her?" Davina asked him.

"I don't know," Josh answered. "Why?"

"She told me about a witch being killed," said Davina. "An Elder, but I don't know if she…"

"Yeah, crazy Agnes?" Josh interrupted. "I heard about that, that Klaus went all berserker on her crew. I guess it was super gross, just like heads and guts... bleh!" Davina looked at him in concern. "What?" asked Josh. "You hate the witches."

"Hayley was right." Davina realized with a look of hurt. "Marcel is just using me. Josh, I can't stay here. I'm not gonna be their puppet, you have to get me out of here!"

"Okay. But where else are you gonna go?" Josh questioned.

* * *

Caroline ran a hand through her damp hair, after being covered in blood, she had definitely needed to wash it away.

She had expected to feel guilty for the actions she took today but she didn't instead she felt guilty for not having guilt.

Her phone buzzed on her dresser and she reached for it. Rebekah's name flashed across the screen. She swiped her finger over the ignore button, sending the call straight to voicemail. It wasn't the first time Rebekah called her today. She had ignored those calls too. She didn't want to talk to Rebekah.

Looking at the time, she realized her mother was still waiting on her call, she quickly opened her contacts and pressed on the one for her mother's.

It ranged four times before her mother's voice filtered over the line. " _Hello?_ "

"Hey, mom."

" _Caroline! It's good to hear from you though I was expecting your call a few hours earlier._ "

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry, something came up." Caroline apologized, moving to sit on the edge of her bed.

" _Is everything alright_?" Liz asked in concern.

"No, everything's fine," she assured her mother. "It's just been quite the day. How are things there?"

" _It's Mystic Falls. There's always some kind of trouble brewing. There's nothing you can do from there for everyone back here just know I have everything under control."_

Caroline thought that was her mother's way of not telling her something but she was right and she had her hands full with the constant drama in New Orleans and it wasn't like her friends were too concerned about her. The only one who even called her every once in a while was Stefan.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right."

" _Enough about Mystic Falls? What about you? Is Klaus treating you well? Have you taken the time to see the city?_ " Liz asked.

"I..honestly I'm really good," Caroline admitted. "I mean, of course, I miss Mystic Falls but New Orleans is great and being able to experience the food, the music, it's been great."

" _And Klaus_?" Liz asked uncertain if she even wanted to know. Her daughter's connection with the monster that terrorized their town was worrisome at best especially with his infatuation with her daughter. She honestly worried about his obsession becoming a danger to Caroline.

"Klaus is.. You have nothing to worry about Klaus. I know you're probably worried about him when it comes to me but you don't have to. He's being very good to me," she gave a small laugh. "It might be his default setting where I'm concerned. He won't intentionally let anything happen to me."

" _Well, that's good to know,_ " Liz responded. " _At least I can comfort myself that your safe even if you're not here with me_." she paused. " _You have no idea how much I miss you, sweetheart. I can't wait till all this is over and you come back home."_

Caroline faltered. It was always nice to hear her mother missed her but the prospect of going home to Mystic Falls didn't appeal to her as it once did. "Yeah, back home." she murmured.

" _Look, sweetie, I have some paperwork I need to finish but I'll talk to you soon,"_ Liz told her.

"Yeah, sure, bye mom." Caroline ended the call and tossed it aside.

 _"_ You don't sound like you want to go home."

Caroline looked up to see Hayley standing in her doorway. "It's rude to eavesdrop."

"I couldn't help it besides I wanted to ask you for a favor." Hayley stepped further into the room.

"A favor? What favor could you possibly want from me?" Caroline wondered, standing from her bed.

"I want you to ask Klaus to call off his attack on the wolves."

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Caroline questioned.

"Don't you think I tried that? He won't listen to me." Hayley let out a huff of frustration.

"And what makes you think he'll listen to me?" Caroline asked. The wolves weren't any of her business.

"Because he's in love with you. He listens to you. He seeks your approval." Hayley looked at her with the best pleading look she could muster. "You can get anything you want from him. You can convince him to look after the wolves."

"Let me get this straight, you want me to use Klaus's feelings for me against him to get what you want?" Caroline asked Rhetorically. "Yeah, I'm not doing that anymore. I'm done being Klaus bait. I'm done using his feelings like a weapon to manipulate him to do what other's want."

"Caroline, that's my family out there!" Hayley placed her hand over her growing stomach. "It's the twin's family, can't you do this for them."

Caroline jaw clenched. She hated that Hayley was trying to use the fact that she cared about Klaus's unborn children against her to get her to do what she wanted. "I won't manipulate him. I won't take advantage of how he feels about me."

Hayley jaw snapped shot, glaring. "Thanks for nothing." she snapped in frustration, spinning on her heel and storming from the room.

Caroline sighed, flopping back onto her bed, wondering when Hayley's problems started becoming hers.

* * *

Klaus was in the parlor alone, playing the piano when Rebekah walked into the room, he, however, refused to acknowledge her presence.

"I stink of the bog!" Rebekah complained in disgust glaring.

"Serves you right, for your pathetic attempt to undermine my rule." Klaus groused.

Elijah joined them when he heard the sound of his brother's voice.

"Nik, listen." Rebekah began.

"When I order werewolves to be hunted to extinction, I expect you to stand aside and let the blood flow." Klaus cut her off not wanting to hear what she had to say.

"How delightfully democratic of you." Elijah threw a ring at Klaus and he snatched it out of the air examining it. "Do you recognize it?" Elijah asked. "Perhaps you don't, it has been a thousand years since you last saw it grace the hand of our mother. The ring was in possession of one of the very wolves whose extinction you just ordered. So naturally, I questioned him. He spoke of a legend. A legend wherein long ago, a chief of theirs had fathered a child to a very powerful witch. Their mythology further states that this child, a son, was later transformed into something this clan had never before seen. Something werewolf and vampire."

Klaus' eyes flickered with emotion.

"Nik, we're trying to make amends," Rebekah told him. "We found remnants of your family. The bloodline of your true father. And we saved them from being slaughtered at the hands of the vampires you command."

"Niklaus, your ambitions have come before this family for far too long," said Elijah, taking a step toward his brother. "Niklaus, I beseech you please, come home."

"What home?" Klaus responded the emotion in his eyes from just a moment ago gone. "This pathetic substitute? You see, despite all your doubts, all your attempts to thwart me, I've reclaimed our true home. I took back the entire city."

"You have the audacity to boast of your victory when the mother of your children remains your prisoner?" Elijah challenged.

"It all comes down to the pretty little wolf for you, doesn't it, brother?" Klaus smirked derisively.

"Stop it, both of you!" Rebekah exclaimed.

Klaus stood up behind the piano. "Even if this is what you say it is, I have had enough of family to last me a lifetime. Why would I possibly want any more?" he pushed past them, leaving them alone in the house.

Rebekah sighed and Elijah looked away with an expression of defeat.

* * *

Father Kieran stood before the altar in his church, lighting candles.

"Ah, good. You're awake." Klaus walked down the aisle of pews, interrupting father Kieran's solitude. "I have a favor to ask."

"I am saying prayers for the dead," Kieran informed him. "I request a moratorium on favors for the king."

"Well, you'll like this one," Klaus responded. "It involves helping people who need protection."

"And whom, may I ask, do they need protection from?" asked Father Kieran doing his best to remain civil.

"Me. You see, I recently ordered the slaughter of a group of vagabonds out in the bayou. Turns out, I may have been too hasty. Thing is, if the vampires find out I'm protecting them, it won't sit well." Klaus said, explaining his current predicament.

Father Kieran sighed and after a moment of hesitation, he said. "I think I can arrange something, on one condition. - For her own good, I believe it is time for my niece to leave town."

"If that's what you want in exchange for your help, fine." Klaus turned walking back out of the church.

* * *

Klaus stared in at Cami, watching as she listened to recordings of their conversation, proof she had of vampires.

"You're tenacious," Klaus announced his presence. "It's quite admirable if not a little annoying at times."

"Klaus," Cami shouted. "you can't keep-"

"You're looking for truths you don't want to find." he interrupted her, he just wanted to get this over with and be gone from here. "Monsters are better left as fiction. It's time for you to leave this place, Cami."

"You have kept me here for weeks just so someone, anyone, would see who you really are, and now that I have you want me to leave," Cami responded angrily.

"None of this was ever about you and don't delusion yourself. You don't know who I am." Klaus told her.

"Then show me." Cami challenged, grabbing his arm. "Let me see you the way you let Caroline see you."

" _No_." It came out harsh and she flinched back, retracting her hand as if he burned her. "I don't wish for anyone to know me the way Caroline does let alone you." he locked eyes with her. "You're going to leave New Orleans." he compelled. "Forget everything you learned today. Forget me. Forget your reasons for staying because you no longer have a reason to."

"I no longer have a reason to stay," Cami repeated.

Klaus nodded to himself and turned and left, leaving Cami standing there, confused as to what just happened.

* * *

Caroline glanced around at the merchants on the street, after her talk with Hayley she just really felt like she needed to take a walk and clear her head. Walking amongst the residence of New Orleans was pleasant. It was so different from Mystic Falls and it was eye-opening. There was so much more of the world out there and one day she wanted to see all of it.

She turned down a street and was surprised to see Klaus walking toward her. "Hey," she smiled when they reached each other.

"I thought you went back to the compound for a shower?" Klaus looked her over in her green blouse, blue jean jacket, and a black mini skirt. "I'm assuming the change of clothes meant that you did but why are you not there now?"

"I felt the need to go out for a walk, we spent all day handling vampire business, I thought I see what else the city had to offer." Caroline shrugged.

"What do you say about going for a drink then, Love?" Klaus' lips pulled into an enticing grin.

"That sounds really good. Do you know of a good place around here?" Caroline asked.

"I do," he fell into step with her placing a hand on her lower back to lead the way. Caroline barely even noticed the way she leaned into his touch but Klaus did and he relished in it.

Twenty minutes later Caroline and Klaus ended up in a small jazz bar. It was in a rundown area part of the city but the place itself was nicer than Caroline had been expecting.

There were leather brown booths, tables, dim lighting, a piano off to the side and a small stage where a jazz band was playing.

Klaus led her to the bar a hand on her lower back. "Two shots of your finest bourbon." Klaus slapped a hundred onto the bar top. "Keep the change."

The bartender accepted his money and quickly poured the drinks.

"Quite the day," Caroline commented as she took a seat at the bar just as their drinks were set in front of them.

"You could say that." Klaus turned his body to her. "Seeing you embrace who you are as a vampire is an experience I won't be forgetting."

Caroline gave a barely-there smile. "You want to know something I never told anyone before?"

Klaus straightened, she had his full focus. "What?"

"I sometimes like the feeling I get from being just a little bad. Killing if I'm being honest comes easy to me but I choose not to because I'm a good person and I don't want to be a monster."

"You could never be a monster," Klaus replied instantly.

"Thank you for saying it but I don't actually need to be told that," Caroline ran the pad of finger around the rim of her shot glass. "My point is I try really hard to be good all the time and it's not always easy to do the right thing."

Klaus was quiet for a moment. "I think you know by now that I very much like the person you are. You don't have to try to be good. I just want you to be exactly who you are."

"I always believed if you tried to change someone to be something you wanted them to be then you didn't truly like them for who they are."

"Is that why you never tried to change me?" Klaus had to ask. Even his family had tried to change him, wanting him to be the brother they wanted.

"Yes, if someone is going to change. It should be for their self and no one else." Caroline responded.

Klaus nodded and lifted his glass to his lips. "Earlier you spoke up against my choice to have the wolves hunted by the vampires? After today do you still feel the same?"

"Yes, I don't believe every wolf out there should have to die," Caroline answered. "You know Hayley came to me asking me to get you to call off the vampires?"

"And is this you trying to convince me?" Klaus questioned, if it was she was being pretty straight-forward about it.

"This is me telling you I don't believe every wolf out in the bayou deserves to die," Caroline repeated, taking a drink from her shot glass.

"You're right, they don't. But if the vampires believe I'm for the wolves, that I would create a hybrid army with the blood of my children. They are always going to be in danger."

"You're protecting them the only way you know you can without endangering them." Caroline realized.

"Except now Elijah and Rebekah have brought it to my attention that it's not just Hayley's pack out there but mine." Emotion flickered in his eyes.

"Your pack? As in your family?" Caroline questioned in surprise.

"My father's pack. Apparently, they heard the story of a wolf of their line who became a hybrid and set out to find me?"

"But now their being hunted by the vampires like Hayley's pack," Caroline concluded.

"I went to father Kieran, made a deal for him to shelter them," Klaus admitted. "It's all I can do. I can't have the vampires turning against me."

"Looking at it from all perspectives, I can see where you're coming from with the wolf hunt and wanting to protect the twins. I can even see where you're coming from about protecting your wolves and keeping the vampires from turning against you." Caroline admitted with a conflicted look.

"But?" Klaus could sense a but coming.

"I don't like it. Any of it." Caroline told him point blank. "It's great that you're at least trying to protect your wolves after sending a vampire hunting party out to the bayou and I know you did it to protect the twins. I guess, it just all really sucks. Almost everything about today sucked."

Klaus stood downing his drink and then he downed hers.

"Hey! That was mine." Caroline protested.

"Come on," Klaus held his hand out to her.

Caroline looked at his hand then placed hers in his and walked them out onto the dance floor.

"Oh," Caroline slid her hand up to his shoulders as he slid an arm around her waist, pulling her impossibly close. "Is dancing supposed to make this day suck less?"

"No," Klaus stared back at her. "I just wanted to dance with you."

"Is that why you chose this place?" Caroline wondered.

Klaus smirked. "Yes, in part,"

"And the other part?" Caroline asked.

"I wanted to take you somewhere I have never taken anyone else to. This has been here longer than most people realize and it has always been one of my favorite places when I want to leave everyone else behind."

"Yet you brought me here?" Caroline murmured, wrapping an arm around his neck.

"I would _never_ leave you behind," Klaus swore.

Caroline smiled, tightening her arm around his neck, she tugged him down until his mouth met hers.

Klaus slid his mouth over hers slowly at first his hand sliding up her back to tangle in her hair while the other gripped her hip.

Caroline moaned from the back of her throat as his tongue slid into the wet caverns of her mouth, his tongue sliding against her own slowly, enticingly. She arched closer, pressing her chest against his, her hands grasping at his neck, giving herself over completely.

Her right leg lifted curling around his calf, trying to draw him closer, desire surging through her.

Klaus groaned his hand traveling from her hip, lower to the curve of her ass, pushing her tightly against him and his rapidly hardening erection. It didn't matter to him that they were in a bar filled with people.

He groaned in complaint when Caroline suddenly drew back from their kiss.

She cupped his face in her hands, her blue eyes filled with want, had turned a dark sapphire blue. " _Klaus."_

Heat surged through Klaus. The last time he heard her say his name in that tone was the one and only night they slept together. It was filled with want and longing and just the sound of it shot right down to his dick, feeling it twitch in the tight confines of his pants.

Caroline knew what she was asking him without saying the words and God, she hoped he got it because she wasn't sure she was capable of explaining what she wanted from him at this exact moment when her body was thrumming with desire.

Klaus's hand in her hair slid back down her back, and wrapped around her waist completely, his hand curling around her rib.

Caroline felt the air shift mere seconds before her back was being pressed against a brick wall, the sounds of the bustling streets nearby, she barely had time to take in the fact that they were suddenly in the back alley behind the jazz bar before he was kissing her again, his mouth devouring hers.

Heat washed over, she glided her hands up his back, over his shoulders, and into his hair, fingers scratching at the base of his neck.

Klaus' hands were everywhere, running over her arms across her collar bone, gliding down her torso, circling her hips and further down, past the edge of her skirt only stopping once he reached the hem of her black mini skirt, fingers grazing her bare skin, slipping beneath the fabric.

Caroline felt every nerve in her body come alive with his touch and arched her back, her hips pressing against his, feeling his hardness pressing against her through the fabric of his jeans.

She ran one hand down his back, slipping it in his back pocket, and pressed him tighter against her, grinding against him.

Klaus ripped his mouth from her, his lips kissing down the underside of her jaw down to the juncture of her neck, sucking the flesh into his mouth.

His hand slid up higher beneath her skirt, curling around her thigh, hiking it higher up his leg.

Caroline tilted head back against the brick wall as his tongue trace a path across her collarbone, noting that the spot they were in was secluded enough that no one would see them. It was all about a matter of not being loud.

And, yes, she was considering having sex in an alley. That was how much she needed Klaus at that moment.

Klaus slid his hand from her thigh further up and cupped her clothed sex, feeling how damp her laced panties were, the smell of her arousal reaching his nose. Her scent, the feel of her, the sounds she was making was all like a sirens call to a man lost adrift at sea.

He wanted to bury himself inside her but he didn't want to push. He wanted it to be her decision.

He let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding when he felt her hands tugging at his belt buckle. "Are you sure about this?"

Caroline's eyes shot to him. "I'm sure I want you. Here, right now." She unfastened his belt and with nimble fingers undid his pants, pulling the zipper down and slipping her hand inside, fingers curling around him.

Klaus groaned, watching her grip him. "Tell me you're not going to regret this."

"I won't." The hand in his hair slid down his neck, placing it over his heart. "I want this. With you. The last time we did this. We argued. It was the heat of the moment. This, right now, while yes, it's the heat of the moment, it's not just that. It's about giving into what I want."

"And what do you want, love?" Klaus murmured, cupping her cheek.

"You. Now." Her fingers tightened around him.

Klaus was hoping she would say that. He curled both hands around her thighs and lifted her bracing her against the wall and his body, he reached beneath her skirt and tugged sharply at her panties, the fabric tearing effortlessly, he pulled it from her body.

Caroline gasped, not expecting for him to literally rip her underwear. And why was that so hot?

A fresh wave of lust hit her and she tightened her hand around him, pushing his jeans and briefs down just enough to free him.

Caroline wrapped one arm around his neck and reached between them with the other aligning him up with her entrance.

"Caroline." Klaus groaned as he pushed the just head of his cock forward.

Caroline let out a breath releasing her grip on his hard shaft and looped her arm around his neck with her other one, locking her eyes with his she used his shoulders for leverage, and rose up just enough and then sunk down on him, until he bottomed out inside of her, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, her heels digging into his ass.

Klaus' eyes widened, the feel of her wrapped around him, so perfect.

Caroline's lips parted on a silent moan, clenching around him.

" _Fuck_." Klaus groaned at the sensation of her gripping his cock buried deep inside of her.

"That's the idea." Caroline breathed, eyes clouded over with lust as she rocked against him, using his shoulders for leverage to ride him.

Klaus tightened his hands on her thighs, pulling his hips back before thrusting upwards as she came back down.

A cry of pleasure tore from her mouth as Klaus started to honestly drive up into her, his hands digging into the sensitive flesh of her thighs

She moaned rather loudly circling her hips, feeling the pleasure coursing through her taking her closer and closer to the edge of bliss that only the gratification of great sex could bring.

The sounds of her moans were intoxicating and Klaus reveled in hearing her cry out in pleasure because of him, but with every thrust, every deep plunge inside her welcoming heat, she grew louder and louder. The last thing he wanted was for someone to interrupt them because they followed the sound of it.

His mouth covered hers swallowing those beautiful sounds as he felt her tighten, clenching down as she came around him.

He savored it, even as he felt a tingle at the base of his spine, his hips losing rhythm, wanting to commit this moment to his memory, every vivid detail. How tight she was, the way she clenched around him, the soft velvet feel of her, her hot breath washing over him, the feel of her lips against his, the warm cavern of her mouth, the feel of her body completely wrapped around him, the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

He thrust up sharply, one hand moving to grasp her ass as he buried himself in her as deep as he could, pleasure washing over him as he came hard.

He ripped his mouth from hers and buried his face in her neck, groaning deeply from his chest.

Caroline slid her hands into his hair, holding him to her as she breathed heavily.

They could've been like that for minutes, hours for all they knew. It was like time had just stopped for them and they just stayed wrapped up in each other another until Klaus eventually slid out of her and gently set her back onto her feet, though he didn't step away from her as he tucked himself back into his jeans.

Caroline brushed a hand down her skirt and ran a hand through her hair. "God, that was…"

Klaus looked at her, holding his breath.

"That was really great, amazing even." Caroline finished, smiling widely, her eyes shining with satisfaction.

A surprise huff of laughter escaped Klaus and he surged forward, pressing a hard kiss to her lips.

God, he loved her more than he thought it was possible for a man like him to love. Before Caroline came along he didn't think himself capable of loving someone the way he did her.

* * *

"Look, things are good with your brother right now." Marcel had met Rebekah in The Garden cellar like they had planned however today hadn't gone like the way he expected it to. "He wants to run things with me - as partners. But if we keep meeting like this behind his back... You said it yourself, whatever it takes to stay alive."

"Oh, this is about survival, is it?" Rebekah challenged angrily sitting down. "If you were this pathetic a liar with my brother, I'm surprised he hasn't killed you already."

"Come on, Rebekah…" Marcel pleaded.

"The only reward anyone ever gets for loving Niklaus is suffering and death. You're choosing him over me, aren't you?" she glared, fighting back the hurt rising in her chest. "Again."

"Rebekah, I got people to look out for," he sat down beside Rebekah. "and Klaus is offering me a chance to do that. With Davina working her magic against the witches, and an Original by my side, that's not something I can just turn my back on. Not even for you."

"When you were reliving history with my brother, did you happen to revisit what came next in 1919? Or have you forgotten our little secret?" Rebekah asked, a threat laced beneath the words. "I know the words that will make him hate you forever. Remember that when you're embracing your new "family"."

* * *

Hayley stood on the balcony, taking a moment to herself, feeling like she failed her wolves. She turned at the sound of approaching footsteps, relaxing at the sight of Elijah. "Are they..?" she trailed off.

"They're safe. All of them." He smiled at her.

Hayley breathed a sigh of relief and threw her arms around him and Elijah returned it.

"Thank you." she pulled back. "What you did, Elijah, it means a lot."

Elijah noticed Hayley's bare shoulder and her crescent moon birthmark. "You should keep this covered up."

"I will," Hayley replied, knowing now the target it painted on her back.

"If any of the others saw this…" Elijah cautioned.

"I promise," Hayley swore to him, keeping her eyes on his.

"I should go," Elijah said, feeling a pull to her that he knew he should ignore.

Hayley's eyes fell to Elijah's lips, she wanted to kiss him.

Elijah struggled to step away from her, his attraction to her at the surface, it didn't help with the way she was looking at him but by some miracle, he didn't give in.

"Right." Hayley murmured, watching as he walked away from her.

* * *

Klaus glanced down, his fingers laced with Caroline as they walked into the courtyard of the abattoir heading toward the flight of stairs however his steps slowed when he noticed Elijah.

"Haven't you had your fill of telling me all the ways I've disappointed you, Elijah?" Klaus groused his good mood evaporating.

Elijah found his gaze drawn to Caroline and Klaus's hands, clasped firmly together. When was the last time he ever seen Niklaus do something so simple, so mundane as holding the hand of a pretty girl?

"Well, there is something important we neglected to discuss," he said, raising his eyes back to his brother and then settling them on Caroline. "I owe you an apology Miss Forbes my brother brought it to my attention that I have treated you unfairly and I cannot say that he is wrong. I haven't been the most welcoming to you."

Caroline was honestly surprised by his sudden apology. She glanced at Klaus quickly, finding him watching his brother with an expression that told him one wrong word and he would regret it. Slowly she turned her gaze back to Elijah.

"Since meeting you I've only seen you as a girl my brother has chosen to pass the time with. It didn't occur to me that you meant more to him and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have belittled your importance as someone he cares about or an individual the way that I did." Elijah said sincerely.

Elijah hadn't thought much of her until he saw them walking hand in hand and the look on his brother's face was completely unguarded. It was as if Niklaus felt he didn't need to put up walls and protect himself for once and that..that was a revelation to see, to acknowledge.

"Thank you for apologizing," Caroline said, she still didn't really like him but maybe in time she would warm up to him.

"I also want to apologize for when we were first formally introduced when I invaded your mind. I know how much it bothered you. I'll be honest I overheard your talk with Niklaus about what Damon put you through and can't imagine having someone invade your privacy against your will help matters."

Caroline tense at the mention of Damon and she pulled her hand from Klaus's wrapping her arms around herself like a shield and Klaus stepped closer to her, instinctively, wanting, needing to surround her with the protection, the assurance his presence could provide.

"I'm truly sorry for that," Elijah said remorsefully.

Caroline nodded. "I appreciate that but I don't ever want to talk about it." Not with him. Not with anyone. It had been hard enough for her when she had opened up to Klaus about it. She just wanted to put it behind her.

Caroline turned, unfolding her arms, she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to give you guys a moment." She stepped forward, placing a kiss to the corner of his mouth, her hand sliding down his cloth chest as she took a step toward the stairs.

Klaus watched her walk up the flight of stairs before turning back to Elijah, his expression guarded.

"Niklaus, I owe you an apology as well." Elijah took a step toward her brother. "I accused you of having ulterior motives regarding the twins. I was wrong. I'm sorry."

"I imagine that must have been hard for you to say," Klaus responded.

"You don't make it easy to love you, brother," Elijah informed him with a frown.

"And yet, you're obstinate in your desire to do so," said Klaus, sometimes he didn't understand his brother. Elijah claimed what a chore it was to love him yet he continuously fought for him to be a better man. "When you're ready, should you be so inclined, both you and Rebekah are welcome to join me and Caroline, here. It is, after all, our family home."

Klaus turned, walking up the stairs. "Though, I'm afraid Rebekah has some fences to mend if she does return."

Elijah said nothing watching as Klaus disappeared up the stairs.

The offer to return to their family home tempting.

* * *

Cami had her bags packed and was all set and ready to leave New Orleans and moved on with her life when a knock sounded on her front door. Cami moved toward it, swinging it open to reveal and upset looking Davina.

"Cami, I need your help." Davina rushed out. "Marcel has been lying to me, and I can't trust him anymore."

Cami looked at her surprised. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

"Oh, you've been compelled." Davina realized and let herself into Cami's apartment, closing the door behind Cami.

"Ok, what are you doing?" Cami asked utterly confused. It wasn't every day a complete stranger came barging into her apartment.

"It's ok. I can fix you." Davina focused on Cami intently. "I'm really sorry, but this is gonna hurt." Davina held out her hand toward Cami, focusing her magic.

She was able to removed from Josh. She was determined to do the same for Cami.

Cami collapsed to the floor crying out in pain, grabbing at her skull with her hands, fingers digging into her scalp from the agony.

* * *

Klaus made the familiar path to his room, he paused however when he saw Caroline leaning against her bedroom doorway which was next to his own room. "I'm starting to think every talk between you and your siblings are intense."

Klaus gave a small chuckle, stopping in front of her. "Oh, that was nothing. No one got their necks snapped. No one got daggered."

"Your family is so dysfunctional," Caroline responded, reaching for his hand and playing with his fingers.

"Speaking of my family, are you okay with them taking me up on my offer to stay here?" Klaus wondered.

"Would it matter if I was opposed to it?" Caroline questioned. "I mean, it's their home, it's your home."

Klaus lifted his hand to her cheek, fingers sliding into her hair. "It's _your_ home too, now, Caroline."

Caroline's lips pulled into a smile. "I'm fine with it though I can't say I'll be very welcoming to either Rebekah or Elijah and speaking of your brother, did you tell him to apologize to me?"

"I might have had a word with him," Klaus confessed. "No one is going to disrespect you. Not even my family."

"I can stand up for myself but I do appreciate it." she lifted her arms, wrapping them around his neck. "Perhaps I could show you my appreciation," she said suggestively, her lips skimming across his stubble jaw. "If you're interested."

Klaus wrapped one arm around her back and the other curled around her thigh, lifting her up as he stepped into her bedroom. "Interested?" Klaus repeated. "That shouldn't even be a question." he matched her wide smile with his own.

Caroline's bedroom door shut, closing on her laugh and the sound of Klaus murmuring her name like a prayer.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Reviews are encouraged!**

 **Now, I'm gonna focus on getting over this stupid flu.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Warning for Smut.**

 **I've edited this chapter twice. I apologize if there are still mistakes.**

 **I don't really like this chapter all that much but I think that has more to do with the episode. It was never one of my favorites.**

 **Still, I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Louisiana, 18th Century**

 _Three French women are traveling by Horse and Carriage, late in the cover of night._

" _Excuse me, sir, how long before we arrive at the Governer's House?" One of the women asked their driver._

 _The carriage carrying the three women stopped as they approach a group of men with torches and alcohol in the middle of the road, blocking their path. The men were shouting as they approached and shook the carriage, taunting the women. The women screamed until the shaking stopped suddenly replaced by the shouts of the men outside._

 _They look around, frightened and confused. The man inside the carriage slowly opened and looked around at the devastation of the men, bloody and scattered across the ground. He looked ahead and tried to go back inside the carriage, but he was pulled out by an invisible force, letting out a terrified scream._

 _Rebekah appeared in the door of the carriage with blood on her lips. "There, there little lambs, all the bad men have gone away."_

 _"You're safe here, please forgive the disorder," she told them next speaking in French fluently._

" _Us girls have got to stick together." she continued switching back to English. "Now, is there anything you want to take with you?"_

 _The women quickly abandoned the carriage and the carnage and ran from the scene with what belongings they could._

* * *

New Orleans was abuzz with mills of people in town for the annual Casket Girls Festival in which a horse and carriage were seen with people drinking, dressed up in old costumes.

Rebekah was walking down the busy street with a smile on her face.

* * *

Camille screamed out in agony on the floor of her apartment.

Davina was working her magic, concentrating on removing the compulsion from her mind as Josh stood in the background.

"Oh god, it hurts!" Cami cried out.

Davina stooped and knelt down in front of her. "I'm sorry, Cami. It's the only way to break Klaus' compulsion."

"Believe me, I know what it's like," said Josh in sympathy. "You're okay. And hey-all these notes that you made? It's very Momento of you. Nice work."

"We've been at this all night," Cami complained, trying to catch her breath from the pain. "I don't understand what's happening to me, I don't understand any of this-"

"But you will," Davina promised. "I will unlock every stolen memory, undo every piece of mind control that any vampire has ever done to you. When I'm done, you will understand all of it, and you'll be free." she paused, considering that maybe Cami wasn't willing to endure the pain. "I can stop if you want me to."

"No, don't stop." Cami shook her head. "I want to remember everything."

* * *

Klaus laid on his stomach his head pillowed on his arms when he slowly opened his eyes and his breath caught in his throat.

Caroline was always beautiful but seeing her in the morning lying next to him, sleeping unguarded, looking entirely at peace was a sight he wanted to remember for the rest of his days.

The way her blonde hair fanned out against her pillow, the way the light streaming in the room, hit her skin making it look almost golden against the white sheet covering her otherwise naked perfection.

He raised up leaning on one forearm and reached out trailing his fingers lightly through her hair, his thumb brushing her cheek. Reverently. It was still hard to believe that he was in her bed and she wanted him there. It was everything he thought it would be and more.

She turned her face into his hand, seeking him out even in her sleeping state, his lips pulled up into a smile. Klaus leaned over her pressing a kiss to her temple, her cheek, the underside of her jar, beneath her ear, her neck, her collar bone and down until he reached the sheet covering her body. He gently tugged the fabric from her body, and kissed a path further down her body, his lips tracing the curve of her breast, he stopped, feeling her body tense and her sharp intake of breath.

He raised his eyes and watched as her eyes fluttered open, immediately seeking him out with her searching gaze and watched as she relaxed. "Is this okay?" he asked. If she wanted him to stop he would.

Caroline nodded. "Yeah," she slid a hand to his shoulder smoothing her hand across his upper back. "Just wasn't expecting to wake up to the feel of lips against my skin."

Klaus settled over her, and she widened her thighs to make room for him. "I didn't mean to startle you love but I woke to this perfect work of art, and I just had to study it?"

Caroline's lips pulled up into a smile. "With your mouth?"

He pressed his hands against her sides. "And my hands." His right hand glided up to her breast taking the perfect mound in his hand, his thumb brushing against her nipple, feeling the bud tightened beneath his touch, his left hand moved to her hip and slowly curved around her, moving to grasp her ass, his fingers spreading out and squeezing.

Caroline gasp, as his mouth covered her other breast, his hand squeezing her ass and thumb rubbing her hardened nipple. "Klaus."

She arched her hips up and felt him hard against her thigh, her core throbbed with need, remembering what it was like to have him hard and pulsing inside of her.

She needed that, needed him. Now that she had allowed herself to really cross that line with him with no regrets, it felt like it was never enough. It felt like she was always going to need him.

Klaus released her breast, a chuckle, escaping him. "Patience love," he kissed down her stomach, he pressed his mouth to her hip bone, sucking.

Caroline's chest rose and fell as her breaths came faster, she raised up on her elbows watching him with lust filled eyes as he trailed his mouth from her hips to her inner thigh and kissed up a path to the apex of her thighs. He moved the hand from her ass back around her body and traced her folds with his finger before sliding it through her arousal, feeling how wet she was from his previous ministrations.

Klaus groaned, inhaling the scent of her, he ran his tongue across his lip and moved forward pressing his mouth against her, his tongue sliding against her sensitive flesh, tasting her.

Caroline gasped sharply at the feel of his tongue sliding through her wet folds, whimpering as his hands moved to grasp her ass, lifting her hips closer, his stubble scratching pleasantly against her inner thighs.

Klaus smirked, every sound she made, like music to his ears.

Caroline all but came up off the bed, back arching, fist clenching in the sheets as his tongue swirled around her entrance, before thrusting inside her. She writhed beneath his mouth, hips bucking up into his face.

Caroline whimpered when his hands tightened on her ass and pulled her back down.

She dropped back to the bed, one of her hands traveling over her breast and squeezing. With every slide of Klaus's tongue, little cries of pleasure escape her lips.

Caroline's eyes slid shut as she lost herself in the feeling of pleasure coursing through her body and Klaus's mouth and tongue moving against her, bringing her to heights of bliss that had her seeing spots behind her closed lids.

* * *

Hayley stood in front of a mirror dressed in a white wedding gown, the fabric tight around her slightly round stomach, trying and failing to fasten the zipper in the back of her dress.

"Would you like some help?" Elijah asked from behind her standing in the open doorway.

Hayley smiled at him. "You might need to use all your vampire strength."

Elijah moved to stand behind her. "Allow me." he took the zipper between his fingers zipping it up for her, he moved on to the buttons, fastening them for her.

"Thanks," Hayley said appreciatively, staring at him through their shared reflection of the mirror. "Not too many pregnant Casket Girls, I guess."

"I think you look lovely." Elijah complimented. "Only I would…" he gently touched her birthmark on the back of her shoulder, left uncovered by the dress.

Hayley reached back covering the mark with her hand. "I know, keep the freaky werewolf birthmark covered."

"Well, I don't suspect any of the riff-raff here would dare lay a hand on you, knowing you're under the protection of my family. Still, you shouldn't take any chances." Elijah cautioned with a look of concern.

Hayley looked at herself in the mirror, frowning at the sight of her stomach and sighed. "All knocked up and nowhere to go."

"You know... if you wanted to attend the festivities tonight, I would be more than willing to take you." Elijah offered kindly.

"Hmm... you and Klaus are barely on speaking terms," Hayley commented. "Let's not rock the boat, okay?"

"Of course," Elijah responded, hiding his disappointment.

"Elijah, do you mind?" Hayley motioned to her zipper and Elijah, stepped forward again unbuttoning and unzipping her dress.

Elijah hesitated before forcing a smile and leaving. Hayley turned around frowning, the moments between her and Elijah were hard to ignore when she wanted more from him. She glanced down at her stomach, wondering if she wasn't carrying Klaus's twins if Elijah would even still be interested.

A part of her couldn't help but think he was drawn to her because of the aspect of family. Nothing seemed more important to him than his family.

* * *

Caroline's mouth fell open on a moan, her hips rising off the bed to meet Klaus for every thrust as he hovered above her his hands and mouth seemed to be everywhere at once.

One minute his hands gripped her thighs, digging into her skin, as she clenched around him and the next his hands were focused on her breast, cupping them, brushing his thumb against the hardened buds as he ground his hips against hers, buried as deep as he could possibly go in her welcoming heat. His eyes locked on hers, watching the way her eyes widened with every deep thrust, the way her lips parted, the whimpers that were music to his ears, the desperation he could see growing in her eyes for a release.

"Fuck, you're beautiful." Klaus had always thought so from the first moment he ever laid eyes on Caroline but the sight of her writhing beneath him, body shaking with pleasure he had never seen anything more breathtaking.

Caroline reached for him, her hand curling around the back of his neck tugging him down to her and claiming his lips for her own, gasping into his mouth as he reached apart inside of her that had her pleasure soaring, and her toes curlings.

She ripped her mouth from his, her lips brushed against his mouth as she panted desperately. "Right there. Klaus."

He pulled his hips back, and she whimpered. " _Please, please, please."_

Klaus surged forward, planting his hands into the mattress, on either side of her head, his arms caging her in.

" _Yes_!" Caroline cried out as he hit that spot inside of her again and again. "Yes, yes!"

Klaus groaned as she tightened around him so tightly she felt like a steel vice gripping his cock.

The sound of her moaning his name as she came, the only thing he could hear as his own pleasure took hold of him, his cock pulsing as he came, her walls squeezing him.

He dropped his head into the crook of her neck, groaning her name. "Caroline."

Caroline's chest rose and fell, she moved her hands over his back, taking comfort in the feel of his breath against her neck.

It didn't even concern her that he could bite her in the heat of the moment. She trusted him not to. She believed that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her even if she could easily bite him and cure herself.

"How does every time we have sex it feels better than the time before?" Caroline wondered, her hand stroking through his hair, combing through his curls.

Klaus pulled away from her neck, hovering over her as he brushed strands of her hair away from her face, his knuckles brushing against her cheek. "We're learning what the other likes and what they don't. Our bodies are becoming accustomed to one another," he grinned. "It helps that you're gorgeous and the sexual chemistry isn't lacking."

"Plus you have a thousand years experience under your belt." Caroline's smiled teasingly. "I guess older men really do know what they're doing."

Klaus laughed freely. "I could teach you some things," his thumb brushed against her pulse point.

Caroline bit her lip. "I am a quick study." Her eyes flickered to his mouth.

Klaus leaned down slowly, his lips had barely grazed hers when a knock sounded against Caroline's bedroom door.

Klaus groaned pulling back, to glare over his shoulder at her closed door. "Go away."

The person, one of the vampires stationed at the compound, however, didn't move away. "We've got a problem. It's the young witch."

Caroline brow furrowed in concern and she pushed at Klaus's shoulder.

Klaus groaned as he slipped out of her and rose from the bed, reaching for his pants.

Caroline followed quickly, grabbing her discarded skirt and promptly pulled on Klaus's discarded shirt.

Klaus was in the process of fastening his pants back when Caroline pulled the door open, her hair wild and disheveled from their morning activities.

"What's wrong with Davina?" Caroline asked a dirty blonde haired male vampire standing on the other side of her door.

"She's gone." the vampire answered.

Klaus moved forward to stand directly next to Caroline, his face set into a scowl. "What do you mean she's gone!?"

The vampire shifted on his feet, swallowing nervously, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but there. "Exactly what I said, no one can find her."

Caroline's brow furrowed in concern while Klaus lips twisted in frustration.

Troublesome witches. Always one headache after another. He really hated every single one of them.

* * *

Rebekah walked into a boutique store on the French Quarter's Main street and started searching through racks of dresses. "Dull, dreary, hideous-"

"Talking about the clothes, or something else?" Marcel appeared behind her.

"Why? Feeling insecure?" Rebekah challenged. "This festival might as well be in my honor. I need a proper costume, so bugger off."

"Bekah-" Marcel reached his hand out to her, his fingers just grazing her arm.

"Don't." Rebekah shook his arm off, glaring. "You made your choice. You and Klaus are best friends again, you've relinquished your right to touch me."

Marcel's phone started to ring before he could even respond.

"I wonder who that could be," Rebekah said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

* * *

Klaus walked up and down the courtyard his phone pressed to his ear, freshly dressed. He left Caroline to let her shower while he dealt with their current problem.

"What's up?" Marcel's voice came over the line.

"A bit of an issue. It seems our little bird has flown the coop." Klaus informed him.

* * *

Davina worked her magic on Camille, and she screamed out in pain.

Davina dropped to her knees in front of Camille. "You should start to feel, like, a weight lifting."

"And your cheat sheets are about to make a lot more sense," Josh said looking at her notes, he dropped her files onto the floor however the sunlight streaming into the room through the window, burning his hand, he jerked his hand back, wincing.

"I promise, as soon as the world stops hunting me, I will find the daylight ring spell," Davina promised.

"I know, just... don't worry about that right now," Josh told her, other more important matters needed to be Davina's sole focused than his sunlight problem.

Camille slowly picked up a photo with sticky notes. "I remember why I wrote this. I found a picture of Klaus and Marcel from 1919. Klaus compelled me to go out with Marcel, to spy on him." she said in surprise wonder. "That's what he said yesterday before he told me to forget. I'm remembering."

"Let's take you back more." Said Davina focusing back on Camille.

Camille nodded, and Davina placed her hands on Camille's temples and started to work more of her magic on her, and the more she did, the more Camille started to remember.

Camille got flashes of when Klaus compelled her to leave. She started to remember every time he used compulsion on her however it wasn't without a cost, her nose started to bleed.

Davina knelt in front of her, observing her carefully.

* * *

"You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know the obvious. Our secret weapon has escaped." Klaus stated.

Everyone was gathered in one of the many rooms of the compound.

"She's not a weapon," Caroline interjected. "She's a teenage girl with more enemies than someone her age should have, and she thinks she has no one to turn to."

"She wouldn't just leave, she knows the witches want her back," Marcel argued.

"And you think she's going to stay with someone who wants to use her, of course not," Caroline said. "She doesn't feel safe here."

"I would never let anyone hurt her," Marcel said offended.

"You can hurt someone more than just physically." Caroline waved her hand at Klaus. "You handed her over to someone she doesn't trust. Someone she hates. She obviously feels betrayed by you, and if you think she wasn't hurt by that, you have not been paying close enough attention to how she feels."

"It wasn't like that." Marcel insisted. "I never meant for it to come across as a betrayal."

"Whether you meant to or not it's probably how Davina sees it. If I were in her shoes, I would see it the same way, and I wouldn't stick around for someone like that."

Footsteps echoes and they turned to see Elijah rounding the corner. "Her violin is missing. Caroline might be right. She may have left of her own volition."

"What did you say to her in the attic?" Marcel glared at Elijah, advancing on him. "She lied to my face so she could stay up there, thinking that you'd help her control her magic. How do we know you didn't take her?"

"I have no idea where Davina is, or why she ran away. Can I suggest you take a step back?" Elijah said, more than willing to make Marcel take a step back.

Marcel eyed him for a moment before turning away.

"I can assure you I have absolutely no desire to see that child come into harm's way," Elijah said in an attempt to assure Marcel Davina had nothing to fear from him. "She's suffered enough with this Harvest ritual nonsense."

"That child, to whom you refer to so affectionately, is the most powerful witch in New Orleans. If she's fled, what's to stop her from destroying us?" Klaus challenged. "In fact, destroying all we've worked for? No, if she's not a friend to this family, then she is our enemy."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Klaus she is just a girl, a kid and she might be powerful, but she does not deserve to die just because you perceive her as a possible threat."

"She is a friend, Klaus," Marcel stressed.

"Well, let's hope so. Lucky for you, I know how to get her back. Follow my lead." Klaus started walking away, Caroline frowned after him, dreading what he might be planning.

Marcel moved to follow him when Elijah stopped him.

"You know how Niklaus operates," said Elijah. "If he perceives a threat, he can become quite ruthless. This would not bode well for Davina."

"I'm not going to let anybody lay a finger on her," Marcel said strongly.

"Nor will I," Elijah responded sharing a look with Marcel.

The two rarely agreed but this was one of the rare times that they did.

* * *

Hayley and Rebekah were ruffling around chests, looking at old white dress costumes.

"So the witch is missing, huh?" Hayley questioned.

"Walked right out of the front door, apparently," Rebekah answered, glancing at her. "Know anything about it?"

"No, although I did tell her that the witch Elders were dead," Hayley responded honestly.

"Well, why would she care, when the witches tried to kill her in their ritual?" Rebekah questioned.

"I think it was more that Marcel didn't tell her that the one thing preventing her from being free had been eliminated," Hayley answered, remembering Davina shock when she told her Agnes was dead.

"So you are the reason she's run off," Rebekah stated, eyes narrowing.

"Hey, I was just telling her the truth," Hayley responded defensively. "She's the one who realized they were just using her to keep their control over the witches."

"Yeah well, I've never been a fan of the boys club," Rebekah responded as they watched Marcel and Klaus on the balcony muttering quietly. "Just wait, Elijah will join them, and the three of them will be impossible."

"Used by the witches, lied to by Marcel, manipulated by Elijah, threatened by Klaus," Rebekah commented. "Just like a modern-day Casket Girl."

"Are you talking about Davina or yourself?" Hayley asked her.

"Does it matter?" Rebekah responded. "Either way, us girls have got to stick together."

"Where was that attitude when you used me for a hostage to betray your brother?"

Rebekah turned to see Caroline standing behind them. "Are you talking to me now?"

"Not really, no," Caroline responded. "But today I'm gonna make an exception. We need to help Davina."

"I thought you would be on Klaus's side now that you're sleeping together." Hayley lips twisted into a smirk.

"You're what?" Rebekah asked in surprise. "Here I thought you were never going to admit you wanted my brother."

"This isn't about my relationship with Klaus. This is about keeping Davina safe and showing her she is not alone. She doesn't have to go through all of this on her own."

Hayley and Rebekah glanced at one another before looking back at Caroline.

* * *

Sabine walked into Rousseau's to find Sophie making out with an unknown man on a table.

Sabine forced a cough in an attempt to get their attention. "Sorry to interrupt."

Sophie looked back at the man and patted his shoulder in dismissal, and he turned and leaves.

"I've been calling you for like an hour," Sabine said, her patience wearing thin with Sophie's behavior.

"I thought you'd have taken the hint," Sophie responded dryly.

"You've been acting like this since Agnes was killed." Sabine accused.

"Yeah, can you blame me? It's not like I have a lot to keep me going these days." Sophie didn't care about anything anymore, every moral line she crossed was for nothing, and she had crossed more lines than anyone knew.

"Well, while you've been drowning your sorrows by nailing everything that walks, I've been doing my tours, keeping my head down and my ears open. Marcel's daywalkers are scouring the whole town looking for a girl – brown hair, blue eyes, sound familiar?" Sabine shot her a pointed look.

Sophie's eyes widened, her eyes starting to shine with something akin to hope. "If Davina is not with Marcel, he won't know if we're practicing magic.. And if we can actually get her back, we can fix everything."

"Sun goes down, vampire search parties quadruple." Sabine held a hairbrush. "I got this from her family's old house. Feel like a locator spell?"

* * *

Davina poured water into a glass and set it on the kitchen table in front of Camille with Josh standing behind them. "Keep drinking," Davina instructed. "You need the vervain in your system so you can't be compelled again."

"Hey Cami, you don't have any like... human blood in your fridge, do you?" Josh questioned, he was hungry and could really use some blood at this point.

Davina exhaled loudly. "For crying out loud, here." she held her arm up in front of him in an offering of her blood.

Josh hesitated not really liking the idea of feeding on his friend but he needed to feed, after a moment he took hold of her wrist however Davina went still, her eyes getting a faraway look, visions flashing through her mind.

Camille stood up approaching her, concerned. "Davina?"

Davina snapped out of it, coming back to herself. "Someone's practicing magic. They're trying to find me."

"Then we have to run," said Cami and quickly left the room but she returned a few moments later with some of her belongings beneath her arm, she shoved them into a bag.

"There is no way to sneak me out of the Quarter." Davina protested. "By now, everyone's looking for me – the witches, Marcel, Klaus."

"My uncle will know what to do." Cami insisted,

Davina frowned at her. "Cami-"

"I mean, he has to know some of what's going on in this town, right?" asked Cami.

"Cami stop," Davina told her.

"Unless he's been compelled." Cami continued, not really listening to what Davina was trying to tell her.

"He knows," Davina interjected.

Cami eyes shot to her in surprise and confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"He knows. He works with Marcel." Davina informed her. "They're practically friends, I hear them talk. He knows everything."

Camille looked at her in shock, and she looked at Josh who returned from the other room. "No. He would've told me if he knew the witches put a hex on my brother."

Davina said nothing and looked to Josh who remained just as silent.

"He knows?" Cami did not want to believe it, but their silence was answer enough.

"Cami-"

"Oh, my god." Cami cut Davina off as it really started to dawn on her. "He knows." she sat down, stumped and Davina walked over to her.

"Hey, you guys seriously need to go, like now," Josh interjected. "Plane, train, automobile, whatever. Take my car, it's parked down at the docks. I'll text you the where."

"Put your number in Cami's phone," Davina told him. "Most of the Quarter is shut down right now, we'll have to walk. And the sun is taking forever to go down."

"Hey, no tears," Josh said when he saw Davina looking at him with wet eyes.

Davina only hugged him in response. "Promise you'll meet us as soon as it gets dark out?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me," Josh told her. "Just don't let them find you."

Davina smiled and nodded. She couldn't make any promises, but she would do her best.

* * *

Hayley walked through the courtyard with two of Klaus' guards following behind her she turned to face them with a look of annoyance. "I know Klaus told you to follow me, but does that really mean you have to follow me to the bathroom?"

The two guards cross their arms over their chests as the sound of Hayley's phone ringing cut through the air. Hayley lifted her phone and saw Sophie's name flashing across the screen.

"Give me two minutes, it's my gynecologist." She muttered to the guards. She walked into the parking garage, shutting the door behind her, wanting to take the call in private.

"What the hell do you want?" Hayley answered.

" _I know you don't trust me, but we are in this together. You need to listen._ " Sophie spoke into her phone, she was at the cemetery. " _Everything is about to change. Davina's on the loose."_

"Figured that out on your own, huh? Remind me again why I should give a damn?" Hayley responded.

" _Because I can sell you down the creek for what we did and you won't be able to run away fast enough before Klaus has you in his grasp for your betrayal_." Sophie threatened.

Hayley scowled. "I'm listening."

" _I need something from you so that the witches can complete the Harvest,_ " Sophie informed her.

"On what planet would I help you witches get more power?" Hayley questioned. "All you've done is use me. You talked me into this insane plan, and there is no way out of it for me. If the truth were ever revealed, I would be lucky if death is my only punishment."

" _You'll help me because if we don't complete the Harvest, our access to magic will fade for good, which doesn't bode well for your family,_ " Sophie told her, knowing Hayley would do anything, anything for her family.

"What do you know about my family?" Hayley demanded. "You promised if I helped you, you would help me."

" _Then consider this me beginning to hold up my end of the deal_ ," Sophie replied. " _You're from the Crescent Wolf bloodline. Marcel forced a witch to curse them so they'd be trapped in wolf form."_

"And I should keep listening to you because...?" Hayley questioned. "And don't say because you'll tell Klaus the truth. I won't be the only one who ends up at his mercy if what we've done ever got out."

" _Because my bloodline executed that curse. Help me complete the Harvest, and I'll undo the curse for you_." Sophie told her. " _I would have held up my end of our deal completely._ "

"But what can I do?" Hayley questioned, willing to do whatever it took to get Sophie to lift the curse on her family.

" _I need to consecrate the remains of a powerful witch so I can absorb their magic. I know of one whose body was never found. Her name is Celeste DuBois_." Sophie informed her. _"I believe you and she have a friend in common?"_

Hayley's eyes widened slightly. "Elijah."

" _Story goes that when she died, he buried her in a secret spot at her request. All you have to do is find out where."_ Sophie told her.

Hayley quickly ended the called and sighed.

* * *

The Festival was in full swing, marching bands and people partying in dressed up costumes to celebrate.

Davina was disguised with a mask over her face, and Camille walked hurriedly down the sidewalk in the center of the French Quarter's Main street.

"There's people everywhere," Davina commented worriedly.

"Just keep walking, no one knows it's you." Cami insisted, not slowing her steps down the crowded street.

"Cami-" Davina said warningly they both came to a stop. Klaus was up ahead of them with Caroline, both of them clearly searching around.

"We have to get off this street," said Camille and rushed Davina down a side street.

* * *

Marcel and Elijah were in the middle of the street talking quietly.

"Kieran is gonna call me first if he hears anything," Marcel told Elijah.

"How are we going to find Davina in this crowd?" Caroline questioned. "She could be anywhere. Hey, there's Marcel and Elijah."

Klaus pulled her along with him over to the two. "Ah, you two look rather cozy."

"Hardly, I was just telling Elijah how we're wasting time," Marcel responded.

"You don't like festivals?" Klaus questioned.

"I don't see why not?" Rebekah appeared. "Who doesn't love a street fair?"

"Sister, come to help us find our stray?" Klaus asked.

"We can't let your secret weapon get in the wrong hands, can we?" Rebekah replied bitingly.

"Can we stop calling her a weapon," Caroline interjected. "She's just a girl."

"Finally someone else who realizes she's just a kid," Marcel exclaimed, nodding at Caroline approvingly.

Caroline frowned catching sight of Father Kieran coming out of a rundown looking building, she cast a look at Klaus and the others who were all distracted by their urgency to find Davina. Caroline only took a moment to consider her actions before flashing away and following after Keiran.

"For the record, we're moments away from retrieving her," Klaus told Elijah and Marcel.

"I recognize that tone of voice, Niklaus," Elijah said, in full disapproval. "Clearly you have some diabolical machination. What is it?"

Klaus smirked before he walked closer to a figure ahead.

"Timothy…" Klaus put his hand on the boy's shoulder, locking his eyes with him. "Might I have a word?" he compelled so the boy could not say no.

* * *

Josh paced the length of Cami's apartment, his cell pressed to his ear. "Cami! It's me. Again. Stalking you. Look, just really need to know where you guys are so I can meet you before the sun comes up. Again."

His phone beeped, another call coming in and he pulled away from his ear and looked at who was trying to call him. The number was unknown one with a frown, he answered it. "Uh, hello?"

" _Joshua, my most disappointing minion._ " Josh tensed as the sound of Klaus's voice filtered over the line. " _I suspected you wouldn't answer the call were it from me_."

"Klaus. Hey." Josh cringed as his voice rose an octave. "What up? Guess what, I just moved to Turkey. Weirdly, they don't eat turkey here. Go figure."

" _You're lying_." Klaus accused. " _In fact, Marcel and I were just chatting about your failed double agent status, and we've surmised that you're likely still in town and in the company of a friend – a young, angry witch_."

"Nope. Nope. No witches here. Totally digging Turkey, though." Josh said keeping up his lie though it sounded ridiculous even to him.

" _Are you really going to leave Davina's fiddler soul mate, Timothy, alone with me?_ " Klaus questioned. " _Oh, Josh. What would she think of that? I assure you I just wanna talk to her. Tim and I will be at the compound. I really do hope she comes home soon._ "

Josh pulled his phone away when he heard the tale tell click of Klaus ending the call before he could even respond.

What was he supposed to do now?

* * *

Davina and Cami walked into St. Anne's Church.

"We should keep moving," Davina said worriedly. "How long do we have to wait?"

"Give it a few minutes, then I'll check to see if the coast is clear." Cami's phone vibrated in her pocket, and she quickly answered it after seeing it was Josh calling her and that she had a few missed calls from him. "Josh, sorry I missed your calls." she paused, looking up at Davina. "What?"

"Look, I didn't want to tell you, but I know Klaus." Josh voice filtered over the line. "If Davina doesn't show up, he'll kill Tim."

"We'll think of something," said Cami. "Make your way to the Quarter. Stay hidden. We'll text you when we have a plan."

Cami ended the call and put her phone away.

"I have to go," said Davina determinedly.

"Davina, wait." Cami protested.

"I can't let Tim die." Davina insisted, she moved to leave but faltered, seeing flashes of magic.

"What's wrong?" Cami asked her concerned.

"The Witches," Davina responded, and a moment later the latches on the church doors clanked the doors opening loudly.

A group of witches walked into the church, chanting. "Gadyen nan balans. Gadyen nan la foi. Se pou nou fe sa yo dwe fe."

"NO!" Davina screamed, and the ground beneath her feet started to shake, the churches, foundation trembling.

The witches were lifted off the ground as Davina levitated them, Sabine among them and with the force of her magic, she snapped their necks. The witches bodies came crashing down to the ground, dead.

Davina moved quickly to Cami who had fallen unconscious. "Cami." Davina crouched next to her on the floor, but Cami doesn't respond. Doesn't budge.

* * *

Caroline followed Kieran until he stopped suddenly. "Why are you following me?"

"There are some things I want to talk about."

Kieran turned to her slowly. "And what might that be, Caroline?"

Caroline looked around at the bustling streets. "I rather discuss this privately."

"Follow me." Kieran led her to an alley off a side street before turning to face her. "What could you possibly want to talk about?"

"Klaus asked you to help some wolves, his pack. I want to know what you're doing to accomplish that?" Caroline questioned.

Kieran looked at her in surprise. "How do you know about that?"

"How do you think?" Caroline arched a brow at him. "Klaus told me himself."

"He trusts you that much?" Kieran questioned. "Who are you to him exactly?"

"Someone who cares about him," Caroline responded. "So are you going to tell me what I want to know or not?"

"Why do you care about wolves? Just because you care about Klaus does not mean you have to care about his wolves," Kieran stated. "Vampires hates wolves. So why?"

"I'm not from here, I don't put stock in the BS that every vampire and every werewolf have to be enemies." Caroline scoffed. "I want to help. You don't know me but its kind of what I do. I help people."

"And you want to help me with the wolves?" Kieran asked.

"I do," Caroline answered. "I know a vampire wanting to help wolves sounds.. unbelievable but I am not most people."

"I guess I'll find that out in time. C'mon. Let's go see them." Kieran walked out of the alley, and Caroline followed shooting a text to Klaus not wanting him to concern himself with where she got off to. She felt a pang of guilt for not helping find Davina when she said she would, however, this was important. She consoled herself with the fact that there were plenty of people out there looking for Davina, particularly Marcel who seemed like he would never let any real harm come to the young witch.

* * *

Hayley walked into the plantation home they had previously been staying in before Klaus had taken over the Quarter. Two bodyguards closely followed her every step.

Hayley whirled around on them, barely refraining from biting their heads off in annoyance. "I'm just grabbing some clothes. Give me two minutes, please?"

The two vampires reluctantly waited outside the home.

Hayley quickly moved into the study and moved to a trunk that she knew held Elijah's journal. She retrieved it and scanned over the pages in search of anything about Celeste, reading over several passages.

 _Celeste entrances me... She is perfection... She is dead. Even as the sun rises, I see only night. But for the promise I made to her, that in death, I would bury her far from the mayhem of witches, vampires, and men..._

"I am so sorry, Elijah." Hayley murmured feeling guilt for what she was about to do.

* * *

Davina hurried through the festival streets of the Quarter, her body went rigid when a figure appeared directly in front of her.

"Hey, it's just me," Josh said, reassuring he was not a threat. "Don't, like, melt me."

"What are you doing?" Davina demanded. "You're supposed to be hidden."

"Yeah. So are you, remember, but you're kind of working that whole "girl on a mission" look that makes me nervous." Josh admitted worriedly. "Are you sure that you really want to mess with, like, the baddest dude in all of history?"

"He messed with me when he took Tim." Davina declared angrily. "I'll kill him, all of them."

Josh shook his head. "Davina, Originals can't be killed."

"Maybe they can." Davina countered. "I have so much power, I've never felt anything like it before. It's growing, gathering inside me. I'm strong, Josh."

Josh thought about how his life was linked to Klaus's life because he was from his sire line. "If you kill them, then-"

"What?" asked Davina when Josh trailed off.

"If you're gonna do it, don't hold back," Josh told her, deciding not to tell her about what happens to an original's sire line when they died. "You hit them with all you got."

Davina nodded, feeling strength from Josh's word.

Josh watched her go, he moved to take a step but was startled when Rebekah appeared suddenly in front of him.

"That was very sweet, not telling Davina that if she kills Klaus, you die, too, very noble," Rebekah commented. "Problem is, she goes after my brother, she'll be the one who ends up dead. A very unnecessary end to an already tragic story. Perhaps you'd like to help me help her."

Josh looked around then back at her. If he could help Davina, then that's what he wanted to do.

* * *

Caroline looked up at an old rundown building just on the outskirts of the French Quarter as Kieran walked up the steps and knocked on the door.

"Someone actually lives here?" Caroline questioned, following up the steps.

"It seemed like a good place, this area is abandoned for the most part." Father Kieran informed her. "Neither the witches or the vampires come around here."

"Wait this is where you're keeping the wolves coming in from everywhere?" Caroline questioned however before he could respond the door swung open revealing a man, in his mid-twenties, dark hair, a sunkissed complexion, he wore a ring on a chain that hung from his neck.

"Father Kieran," The man greeted.

"Zachary, may I come in, I have some things I want to discuss, and there's someone I want you to meet." Kieran indicated to Caroline.

Zachary's eyes slid to Caroline, his eyes narrowing. "She's a vampire."

"But not your enemy," Caroline interjected. "I'm a close friend of Klaus." Okay, she and Klaus were more than that, but she didn't want to have to explain her relationship to a stranger.

Zachary eyed her for a moment, his eyes returning to Father Kieran before he opened the door wider, letting them inside.

Caroline followed the father further into the rundown home, casting her eyes around, parts of the plaster on the wall was crumbling and littering to the floor, holes in the wall and cracks in the tiled floor.

The staircase looked weak. The banister leaning to the side and it honestly smelled terrible like mildew or something.

There were cobwebs on the walls dust on the surfaces. Who in their right mind would live in a place like this? Dire circumstances indeed.

"This used to be a halfway house a couple years ago but was shut down. It's just been sitting abandoned ever since," said Father Kieran. "I know its not the best place. Far from it but it keeps them safe from the vampires."

"I get that however that doesn't mean you can't have the place renovated or something." Caroline looked around again. Maybe that was something she could help with.

"My immediate concern is making sure they have somewhere to go," Kieran responded.

"Does Klaus have any intention of coming to see us himself?" Zachery injected leading them into a library, it had a worn down couch with tears in the fabric. Broken book shelves and a desk that was pushed up against a cracked glass window.

The fact that the couch was all but sunken in and broken didn't stop Zachary from taking a seat on it, and Caroline grimaced, wondering if it were infested with bedbugs or mice, she wouldn't put it past the place if it did. But ugh, this place needed new everything.

"Well, he's been occupied as of late." Caroline opted not to take a seat and remained standing.

Father Kieran moved to the desk to lean against it. "Where are the others?"

"Scrounging for food, something to keep us fed, a few are out in the woods hunting. We don't exactly have the means to fill the place with real food." Zachary answered.

Caroline frowned. "You have no food?" she looked to Father Kieran. "Surely something can be done about that at least. Like a food drive?" Caroline tilted her head. Maybe she could raid the pantry back at the compound, they keep enough food to feed a small army, she could bring most of that here. Or she could go to a grocery store compel someone to bring a boatload of food here.

Hmm, that could work.

"I'll look into getting the word out for one." Kieran responded.

"I'm sorry, but you're a vampire why do you care about what happens to wolves?" Zachary interjected.

"Like I told Kieran I don't believe in the nonsense that vampires and wolves need to be enemies. And I don't think you do either. You wouldn't have come looking for Klaus, he's both vampire and werewolf; however, I don't see you holding that against him." Caroline responded, crossing her arms. "Look, you don't have to like me because I'm a vampire that's your choice. I can't change that, but that's not going to stop me from helping you. You're Klaus's pack, his family. If you need help, then I want to make sure you get it."

Zachary stood up slowly, coming to a stop in front of her and Caroline stood straighter, observing him. He eyed her quietly for a moment before finally saying. "I didn't catch your name before?"

"Caroline." she dropped her arms, sensing he wasn't a threat by the smile he was giving her. "Caroline Forbes."

"Zachary Collins," he extended his hand. "Though my friends call me, Zach."

"Zach," Caroline repeated, lips pulling into a smile at his subtle acceptance. "How can I help?"

* * *

"Where's Rebekah gotten off to?" Klaus questioned, they had returned to the compound but there was still no sign of Rebekah or Caroline. "Where's Caroline?"

"It's not Rebekah or Caroline that I'm concerned about, and how can you be so certain that Davina will come?" Elijah questioned.

"One might think you've forgotten what it's like to be in the grip of an all-consuming infatuation," Klaus responded. "She'll come."

He looked up and Elijah seeing the boy Tim on a beam above them high enough that if he fell it could be fatal or life-altering at least.

"Are the maudlin theatrics absolutely necessary, Niklaus?" Elijah questioned, his disapproval evident.

"Ha! It's a fair point, Timothy, play something a little more upbeat, please." Klaus requested. "That's a good lad," he stated. "Took you long enough to spread the word."

"Have you met his nightwalkers?" Elijah asked. "Not the brightest assortment."

"All that matters is, I got it covered." Marcel glared at Elijah, not appreciating the way Elijah talk of his guys. "When Davina gets here, you two need to let me do the talking."

"Well, I'm sure you'll have your chance." Klaus smiled as Davina walked into the courtyard. "Hello, love. Silence is golden, Timothy." The music stopped. "Thank you."

"Davina?" Tim questioned, looking down at her from his perch with a look of fear.

"You got me here. Now let him down." Davina demanded, glaring.

"Well, first, we have to have a little chat about you returning to the fold," Klaus smirked.

"What did I say, Klaus? I got this," said Marcel, he looked to Davina. "D, what happened? Why'd you run? Talk to me. Hey, I can make it right."

"How, by threatening my friend?" asked Davina betrayed.

"Actually, that was my idea," Klaus interjected. "Apologies. I've been known to go too far to make a point, but I do always get results."

"You pretend to be so confident, but I know the truth." Davina stepped forward. "You're afraid everyone can see what you really are- an animal _._ " she raised her hand, and Klaus stumbled in agony as she used her magic to inflict pain on him. "A _beast_. Why don't you show us your real face?" Davina continued, forcing his fangs to drop, his eyes glowing amber. "That's enough of you." she incapacitated him.

"Davina, you don't have to do this," Elijah told her cautiously.

"You-" Davina whirled around on him. "You looked me in the eyes and lied to my face, pretended you wanted to help me. "

"Listen to me." Elijah insisted, needing her to hear him out.

Davina ignored him as if he hadn't spoken. "You call yourself the noble one, but you're a _killer_ just like your brother. For 1,000 years, you've fed on innocent blood. Why don't you choke on it?" Elijah started to choke, collapsing to his knees finally Davina turned back to Marcel. "And you- I trusted you. I _loved_ you, but you were just using me to stay in power. You don't care about me."

"You're wrong." Marcel protested immediately.

"When you lost to Klaus, you handed me over like some trophy." Davina jaw clenched in anger. "Maybe I should boil you in bronze."

"I care." Marcel took a step toward her. "I took you in like you were my own blood."

Davina glared at him just as he let out a choked sound, a blade sticking out from his chest where he was stabbed from the back, he fell to the floor.

"Come on now, love. Don't tell me you were falling for that." Rebekah stood just behind where Marcel was laying at her feet. "Isn't it time for us girls to have a chat? Now, that is impressive, and well-deserved, in my opinion. Now, before you turn on me, I have a surprise for you."

Josh walked into the courtyard, surprising Davina.

"Josh, what are you doing?" Davina demanded worriedly. "Get out of here."

Rebekah, however, grabbed him by the throat.

"What are you doing?" Josh choked out around her tight grip on his vocal cords.

"Now, if I were Klaus, I would rip Josh's head from his neck, feed it to a nightwalker, and that would be the end of your friend But hurting people is such a boyish thing to do, like how Klaus compelled your fiddler on the roof, and, while I am many things, I'm certainly not my brother." She released her grip on Josh's throat. "It's ok, Timothy. You can come down. No one is gonna hurt you."

"He told me I couldn't climb down off this beam." Tim protested, the fear apparent in his voice.

"Then don't climb, silly." Rebekah walking over to him, till she stood just beneath the beam. "Am I the only smart one in the room? Jump."

Tim hesitated a few seconds before he jumped down and Rebekah caught him quickly, setting him back on his feet, Davina relaxed slightly now that neither Josh or Tim seemed to be in any immediate danger.

Tim approached Davina. "Davina, how did you do all that? How did I even get here?"

"I'll explain everything, I promise," Davina assured him before she looked to Rebekah, confused. "Why are you doing this?"

"Seems to me that you're the one holding all the cards, but you don't know who to trust. I've just proven that you can trust me." Rebekah told her. "Now I'd like to show you one more thing. Won't take long. You can bring your friends." She motioned for Davina to follow her, leading her out of the Courtyard.

* * *

Sophie moved through the woods, her phone pressed to her ear as she spoke with Hayley..

" _Look, Sophie, I told you everything that I found._ " Hayley told her.

"You said he buried her between two lovely oak saplings. News flash- that was 200 years ago. They're all just trees now." Sophie said exasperatedly. Did she really need to explain this?

" _You want to be the all-powerful witch, keep looking. Say a prayer. Have a little faith. You can do this_." Hayley encouraged, hoping that Sophie actually could. Everything they did had to be done for something.

Sophie ended the call. Hayley's words of encouragement while appreciated, she doubted it would be so simple. "Ok. Soeurs et freres, mwen rele sou nou. Mennen me sa me chache." Sophie chanted into the wind. "Please, please help me. I'm trying to do the right thing."

* * *

Rebekah led Davina, Tim, and Josh down into Marcel's vampire Garden.

"Oh, don't worry," Josh told Tim when the boy's eyes had widened in horror at the vampires buried in the walls. "They're not really dead, just really hungry... and I'm not helping."

"You think my brother Nik is awful?" Rebekah asked Davina, turning to face her. "Marcel learned from the best. This is how he treats his so-called friends who betray him. Most of what these poor souls did is no worse than what Josh did." she motioned a hand to Thierry where he was boarded into the wall. "Take Thierry, for example. He was Marcel's most trusted friend. Klaus tricked him into breaking one of Marcel's rules. Marcel knows this, and yet he keeps Thierry locked in here day after day, suffering."

"This is insane," said Tim, looking around with wide eyes, keeping close to Davina.

"Why are you telling me this?" Davina asked suspiciously.

"Because you need to know who you're dealing with, who you can trust," Rebekah answered.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be ok. I mean, you're gonna be alright." Tim told Davina reassuringly. "Here. Drink something." he handed her a bottle of water and Davina took a drink from it, sending him a look of thanks.

"Davina, both you and I have been lied to and taken advantage of by Marcel and Klaus. Maybe together, we can get a little payback." Rebekah said in an attempt to persuade her however Tim started to cough, falling to his knees drawing Davina's attention away from Rebekah to him.

"Tim?" Davina asked.

"It was Klaus. He made me do it." Tim said suddenly with remorse. "I didn't even know what I was doing until I made you-"

"Made her what?" Rebekah interrupted.

"Drink," Tim answered, his eyes filled with pain.

Davina looked at him confused. "Tim?"

Rebekah's eyes widened as it dawned on her. "Klaus poisoned the water."

"Tim?" Davina looked at him in disbelief.

"Davina?" Josh took a step toward her. "Oh, no."

* * *

When Caroline had left the new residence for the wolves, she had called Klaus not once but three times and he hadn't answered a single call. Admittedly it worried her, and she quickly made her way back to the Compound.

What she found had her rooted where she stood for just a moment.

Marcel, Elijah, and Klaus were all spread out on the courtyard grounds.

Clearly, they had been attacked but by who?

Caroline quickly shook off her surprise and moved toward Klaus kneeling beside him, she gave Klaus a rough shake and realized he was dead.

She sighed irritably, she did not want to have to wait however long it was going to take for one of them to revive to find out what happened however what other choice did she have right now?

Her hand reached out, combing through Klaus's curls and down to his neck.

Klaus jolted up suddenly, and Caroline gasped in surprise.

Klaus' eyes flashed angrily, and she slid her hand up to his cheek. "Hey, easy. It's just me."

"Caroline," Klaus's hand wrapped around her wrist, tugging her closer. "Where have you been?"

"Something came up, and I'll tell you all about it later, but first you want to tell me what happened?" Caroline asked, pulling back as Klaus stood up, his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her up with him.

"Davina." Klaus hissed.

"Davina?" Caroline repeated then sighed leveling him with a hard look. "What did you do?"

"Why do you assume it's something I did?" Klaus countered as Caroline removed his arm from around her waist, taking a step back from him.

"Davina doesn't strike me as stupid, and you have a habit of provoking violence in others, so I'll ask again what did you do?"

Elijah let out a loud groan, climbing to his feet. "Yes, Niklaus, do tell her what you did."

Caroline looked behind her to see Elijah and Marcel both pulling themselves off the ground and back to their feet. She hadn't even noticed that they had revived from whatever was done to them.

"Are you going to tell her or are we going to have to do it for you?" Marcel glared.

Klaus shot him an annoyed look. "I used Davina's friend against her as leverage."

"Josh? You threaten Josh?" Caroline questioned.

"No, her human friend. I compel him to jump from the rafters if she didn't do what was expected of her."

Caroline's eyes filled with disappointment and he hated it, turning away from her.

"Don't do that," Caroline said sharply, turning him back to face her. "Is he dead? Is her _innocent_ friend dead?"

"Seeing as there isn't a body I would say no," Klaus answered. "But that could always be remedy once I find Davina."

"Stop," Caroline ordered. "Just _stop._ If Davina's friend isn't dead, there's a chance we can fix this and get her back willingly. Davina is not an enemy. Stop treating her like one! She is just a kid."

"Thank you," Marcel said.

Caroline ignored him and focused on Klaus.

"She is not just a kid, she is a powerful witch. Why can't you see that?!" Klaus demanded.

"I'm not gonna stand here and fight you about this." Caroline glared. "We'll finish this when we find Davina."

Klaus glared. "Who says I won't kill the witch the second I see her for her actions against me?" he hated being challenged.

"Because _I_ am asking you not to," Caroline responded and Klaus faltered.

He wanted to give her whatever she wanted even when it was the last thing he wanted.

He clenched his jaw but nodded slowly, and both Elijah and Marcel watched the exchange with interest.

Caroline nodded, her face softening, she grabbed his hand, tangling her fingers with his in a show of appreciation for him willing to do as she asked.

She knew how hard it was for him to go against what he really wanted to do.

She didn't take it for granted or his feelings for her. Not anymore.

* * *

"Cami, are you all right? Did you eat today?" Kieran questioned, kneeling at her side. "Oh, you must have fainted."

"Yeah, or I got mystically cold-cocked by 3 witches." Cami looked around. "Where's Davina? Does your friend Marcel know she's here?"

"Cami, I can explain," Kieran said, hearing her mention Marcel.

"Vampires? Witches? My brother, your nephew, hexed by a witch. How could you not tell me?" Cami demanded.

"It's complicated," said Kieran. "There's a lot you don't understand."

"You hid the truth from me. You let me believe that Sean was crazy, that I was crazy, instead of telling me the truth." Cami threw back at him angrily.

"I was protecting you." Kieran defended. "You saw what happened to Sean. Cami, please-"

"Get the hell away from me." Cami snapped, pulling away. "You are every bit as bad as the other monsters in this city."

* * *

Caroline paced the floor as Klaus pressed his phone to his ear calling his sister.

"Well, isn't this monumentally awkward," Elijah commented as Klaus called Rebekah. "Three powerful vampires taken down by one witch."

"Rebekah, where are you?" Klaus had his cell pressed to his ear.

" _I'm with Davina, and she's dying because of your treachery._ " Rebekah seethed.

Caroline spun around, her eyes narrowing on Klaus at hearing Rebekah's words.

"Well, I tried to talk to her out of respect for Marcel, but she made it quite clear she is not our friend," Klaus said. "My apologies if you thought she was yours." He didn't sound the least apologetic.

" _Just tell me how to cure her,_ " Rebekah demanded. " _Vampire blood isn't working_."

"Klaus," Caroline glared. She had asked him to spare Davina.

Klaus turned away from Caroline when faced with her disappointment. He had already set things in motion before she had asked him not to kill Davina; instead, he focused on speaking with Rebekah. "No. It wouldn't. You see, the poison I compelled Timothy to feed her is quite potent." Klaus smirked. "It's just a matter of time for her."

" _For both of them, you diabolical bastard._ " Rebekah spat angrily. " _They're children. We could've dealt with her fairly."_

"There is no dealing with those who threaten us," Klaus argued. "Davina sealed her fate when she stood against me. This was her choice, not mine." he didn't wait for Rebekah to reply before ending the call. He turned to Caroline, her eyes glaring and he clenched his jaw knowing there was an argument waiting to happen and he rather not have another one in front of Elijah and Marcel both who were staring at him in disappointment. "Oh, come on. The stench of your judgment is overwhelming. Need I remind you that Davina just bested the lot of us? I did what had to be done. Don't worry, Elijah. I remain as redeemable as ever."

"So you compelled that boy to poison Davina without consulting Marcel or myself." Elijah challenged.

"You know what the worst part is?" asked Marcel. "It's that you're so predictable, I had to make an alliance with your brother, who I don't even like."

"One would think the worst part is the poison of children," Caroline interjected, her anger clear as day in the tone of her voice.

"Judging by your expression, you have something you'd like to share." Klaus prompted, eyes narrowing at the mention of an alliance between the two men.

"Damn straight, I do," said Marcel heatedly. "I got a call from Kieran earlier, right after Sabine and some witches almost got their hands on Davina first."

* * *

" _Oh, hello." Marcel greeted as Sabine came back from death. "Let me guess, protection spell?"_

" _You think I'd let a day where witches can do magic pass by without one?" asked Sabine challengingly. "They all should've done the same."_

" _You broke one of my rules, Sabine, and I'm guessing that spell of yours is probably a one-time deal." Marcel eyed her hard. "I'll give you two choices- an immediate reunion with your dearly departed friends, OR, you can do that same spell for a young witch friend of mine."_

 _Sabine gave him a look but said nothing._

" _Yeah, you probably know which one I'm talking about," Marcel said knowingly._

* * *

"So, when you slipped away to allegedly check on your nightwalkers, you were, in fact, colluding with a witch." Klaus accused. "That's very clever. I suppose I should be proud."

Caroline was relieved to hear that Davina had a chance of surviving this but what about her friend Timothy. She shouldn't have left. If she hadn't maybe she could have reasoned with Klaus not to do what he did.

"Eh, I just wanted to make sure I had a failsafe just in case, as Elijah expected, you started acting like you," Marcel replied.

"Except that now you've involved the witches, who, last time I checked, were enemy to us all, to everything we have, and to our family." Klaus returned with ire.

"Davina is Marcel's family, Niklaus, or did that somehow slip your mind as you tried to take her life?" Elijah questioned. "You will call Rebekah. You'll tell her that Davina will recover. Do wish the same could be said for that boy."

Caroline found herself agreeing with Elijah for once, and she hated it.

* * *

Davina's eyes shot open gasping for breath. She turned to Tim beside her, her eyes feeling with tears. "Tim? Tim? Tim, Tim, wake up. Tim, please wake up." Davina's chest ached, a sob building in her chest. "Open your eyes. No, no. _Please wake up._ " she cried in anguish. "Please don't leave me alone."

* * *

The moment Rebekah walked into the courtyard carrying Davina in her arms, Caroline moved toward her.

"Is she..?" Caroline trailed off as she heard Davina's heart, heard her breathing. She was just sleeping.

"Is she ok?" Marcel moved toward Rebekah stopping beside Caroline, wanting to reach out to Davina but not wanting to wake her.

"She's devastated and exhausted," Rebekah told him. "Where's her room?"

"No. I got her. I got her." Marcel gently took her from Rebekah's arms.

Rebekah glared at Klaus but said nothing as she walked back out of the courtyard, her silence having more of an effect than anything she would have said.

Caroline looked at Klaus for a moment, her eyes dark before spinning on her heel, she needed to create some distance between them. She didn't want to say things out of anger that she might regret later.

* * *

Marcel watched over Davina, she was asleep in her bed in the room that had been prepared for her at the compound. "She'll never trust me again," Marcel stated.

"Perhaps." Elijah agreed, standing just behind him in the doorway. "You must never surrender the fight to reclaim that trust." He stepped further into the room seeing Davina's array of drawings.

"These drawings, what are they?" Elijah questioned.

"She drew those the whole time she was in the attic, said they're different than what she draws when she senses magic," Marcel answered. "These ones, she called them evil."

* * *

Klaus walked through the Quarter in search of Caroline. She wasn't taking his calls. He was walking down bourbon street when he paused seeing Cami walking toward him.

"Surprised to see me? After all, you did compel me to leave town." she accused, eyes filled with anger.

"You remember," Klaus stated, it didn't really matter to him that she remembered or not.

"Chalk one up for decompulsion. Hurts like hell, but it's worth it. Made me realize exactly why I want to stick around." She told him. "Oh, and Klaus, if you hurt Davina or Josh in any way, I'll expose you to the world, and then you can kiss the French Quarter good-bye, forever." she flashed a fake smile. "Have a nice night."

Klaus clenched his jaw in mild annoyance. The fact that Cami thought she could threaten him was rather insulting. She was nothing more than a human. What power did she honestly believe she had over him.

He pulled out his phone dialing Caroline, again. "Love, C'mon, answer your phone. You want to be angry with me? Fine but don't run off and don't ignore my calls, I need you to talk to me."

"And I needed you to show restraint."

Klaus whirled around, finding Caroline standing just feet from him. "Is this where you yell at me for the killing of the innocent?"

"Oh, so you know what you did was wrong?" Caroline retorted.

"I understand that you're upset, lo-" Klaus reached out his hand to her.

"Don't," Caroline stepped out of his reach. "I don't want to do this here, let's head back."

Klaus nodded and offered his arm, but Caroline ignored it, pushing it away and turned down the sidewalk heading back toward the compound.

Klaus' arm fell back to his side, and he fell in step behind her, a weight settling in his stomach, he feared that Caroline was going to pull away from him again taking the happiness he found with her.

* * *

"For centuries, people have come to New Orleans looking for a fresh start. Looking to find adventure, fortune, and even love. Young society women imported from France with the promise of marrying a proper New Orleans gentleman like the legendary Casket Girls.

Little did they know that the men who awaited them were far from proper, and not at all gentle. The Casket Girls legend lives on, now celebrated in typical New Orleans fashion with stylish costumes and supernatural flair. It's a yearly reminder of how women can be oppressed by selfish men and how they can triumph when brave enough to fight for themselves. It is said that this is a man's world, and sometimes it is. For every Casket Girl that was saved, countless others were not. But women are more resilient than given credit for. And some women, well, let's just say their oppressors had better watch out.

I, too, am resilient, and I'm tired of being oppressed. For 1,000 years, my brother has taken what he wants in whatever way he wants, regardless of the consequences. Marcel seems determined to allow it, and Elijah stands right by his side, futilely awaiting the day that he'll change." Rebekah said she was seated in the garden in front of Thierry.

"So men suck. What do you want me to do about it?" Thierry questioned.

"Despite your dire warnings to Marcel, he just can't seem to quit my brother. The two of them stand side by side ruling this city while you're left in here to rot." Rebekah told him. "I want you to help me take New Orleans right out from under all of their noses, and I have something they won't see coming, someone on the inside. She's quite the resilient girl herself."

* * *

When Marcel finally leaves Davina room, the door clicking shut, she opens her eyes. In her eyes was a deep sadness but also resolve.

* * *

Klaus half expected Caroline to close herself in her room and was surprised when she pushed the door to his bedroom open, waiting for him to follow her inside before closing it behind them.

"I know you're angry and disappointed," Klaus began. "However I-"

"That's an understatement," Caroline muttered. "How could you possibly have thought killing two kids was a good idea?"

Klaus felt his hackles rising at her blatant berating. "I was thinking Davina was making herself out to be an enemy and a powerful one at that. I thought it was better to eliminate the threat posed against me, against us."

"She is not a threat. She's a girl who has had her life torn apart by witches and vampires!" Caroline argued. "With everything that she has been through I think she's entitled to lashing out and taking back her control without you trying to kill her!"

"I don't care what she's been through!" Klaus snapped. "When you have enemies like I do you weed them out through any means necessary. If she's going to lash out, then you better believe I'm going to shut her down. No one is going to be my downfall especially not some overpowered teenage witch!"

"God, you are unbelievable. I feel like we are getting nowhere with this argument!" Caroline whirled away from him back toward the door. "One day you're going to realize killing everyone doesn't solve all your problems. It just creates more."

"So that's it then?!" Klaus demanded as she reached for the handle to his bedroom door. "We fight and you decide to walk away from me."

Caroline spun around on her feet. "I'm walking away to keep from saying something I might regret later. It is not the same thing as walking away from you. This, us," she waved a hand between them. "It's new, and it's complicated, but it's not something I want to end. We are going to fight a lot because we see the world differently if that's going to be a problem for you then walk away from me right now."

Klaus shot his hand out, his hand gripping her by the back of her neck and pulled her forward, their bodies crashing together as he took control of her mouth.

Caroline gasped, and Klaus took it as an invitation to slide his tongue inside, gliding it along hers, his other hand moved strongly over her body, down her chest and torso, sliding around to her hip and further down landing on her ass gripping it tightly in his hand.

She moaned lowly, her body reacting to him instinctively arching up against him, an ache forming at the apex of her thighs as a white-hot need shot through her. She grasped him by the shoulders holding onto him tightly.

His fingers spread out on her ass and it felt like his hand encompassed her entire left cheek. She imagined how his touch would feel on her bare skin and her body heated at just the thought.

Her left hand slid up to his curls, gripping the strands between her fingers and tugging sharply.

Klaus grunted, his mouth parting from hers, his eyes were dark with desire. "I will never walk away from you. It's a notion that is impossible to me. Don't suggest it again."

Caroline nodded sharply, desire shooting through her. "Good, now if we can shut up and get back to what we were doing that would be great."

Klaus' hands tightened on her, and he walked them backward until her back hit the door, pinning her there with his hips and fisted her shirt in his hands, yanking on the material.

The fabric ripped completely, and Klaus pushed the tattered shirt down her shoulders, the pieces falling to his bedroom floor.

"Hey!" Caroline's eyes narrowed. "I really like that shirt!"

Klaus hand slipped behind her unhooking her bra with deft fingers, and pushed it down her arms and tossed it to the floor. "I'll buy you more just like it." his hands slid around to her ass and hiked her up against his body, his hot breath fanning across her breast, causing her nipples to harden. "I'll buy you a whole new wardrobe."

Caroline's head thudded back against the door as his lips wrapped around her nipple, her hand came up, threading through his hair and holding him to her chest, as his tongue swirled around the hardened bud.

"Mmm," Caroline bit her lip, biting back a moan.

Klaus tugged at her nipple with his teeth before releasing it with a wet pop careful not to break the skin, his lips skimmed up her throat, sucking on her pulse point as he lowered her back to her feet, his finger unfastening her jeans and pushing the fabric down her hips.

Caroline quickly nudged her shoes off as she tugged his shirt up and over his head, she placed her hands against his bare chest, her nails digging in slightly as he pushed her jeans down her legs.

Caroline kick them away once they were off, her hands shot to his pants unfastening them.

Klaus grabbed her by the waist before she could slip her hand inside his jeans, smirking he threw her on the bed, causing her to squeal as she bounced.

Klaus chuckled, getting rid of his shoes and pants, he approached the bed, his hands wrapped around her ankle sliding up her leg until he reached her hips, his finger hooking into the side of her blue lace panties and tugging sharply, they snapped off and he tossed them over his shoulder with a smug smirk.

Caroline wanted to wipe that smug look off his face and waited till he crawled up her body before wrapping her legs around his body and flipping him onto his back, his hardened cock pressing against her flat stomach.

Klaus attempted to raise up, but she pushed him back down, planting her arms over his chest as she adjusted their position, her legs bracketing his hips as she slid her wetness over his length, coating him in her arousal.

Klaus groaned, and he grabbed her by the hips, positioning her over his erection, the head of his cock pressing against her entrance.

Caroline dug her nails into his chest as she lowered herself onto him by just an inch before raising back up.

Klaus groaned as he slipped out of her, his eyes shooting up to her's as she let out a breathless laugh. Caroline's eyes shined with mirth, her cheeks flushed. The blonde vixen was teasing him, knowing full well the effect she had on him.

Klaus matched her smirked with his own as he gripped her ass in both his hands and pulled her down over him, driving into her by lifting his hips.

Caroline's mouth parted on a moan, her eyes sliding shut as he filled her.

Klaus groaned, the feel of her enveloping him in her tight channel, squeezing around him so perfect.

Caroline circled her hips before raising up off him, Klaus dug his feet into the bed and lifted his hips, driving up into her hard and fast as she came back down.

Caroline moaned loudly, her nails scraping down his chest as she threw her head back in pleasure.

Klaus watched her, his desire increasing. It was like looking at a Goddess while she rode him hard and fast, taking what she needed.

His hands gripped her ass, fingers digging into her delicate skin as he drove up into her again and again.

Caroline dragged her hands down his body to her own, moving her hands through her hair as she allowed herself to feel nothing but the way he filled her, his hands on her body and the pleasure building low in her stomach, pulsing.

Klaus raised up when her hand traveled to her breast, knocking it away and taking her nipple into his mouth, never stilling the movement of his hips.

Caroline cried out as his teeth grazed her nipple, every inch of her sensitive to the touch.

She rode him harder, her lust driving her forward as she chased that edge of bliss she could practically feel herself teetering on.

Klaus's left hand release its grip on her ass, skimming up her back, wrapping around her hair, gripping the strands, and pulling until her head tilted back exposing her neck.

His mouth left her breath, finding her pulse and sucked hard.

Caroline's hips falter for just a second, a hot wave of lust shooting through her at the action.

Klaus' hips surged up sharply, hitting that spot inside her that had her falling over the edge, body shaking in pleasure as she came hard. "Oh, God, Klaus!" her hands scrambled for purchase, gripping his arms as her mouth landed on his shoulder, her fangs dropping, teeth piercing his flesh and drinking deeply of his blood. A sensation of pleasure shooting through her as her inner walls clamped down hard on his dick.

Klaus grunted, feeling her squeeze around him and feeling her drink from him. His eyes flashed, and he flipped them, hiking her legs up higher and drove into her with such force the bed slammed into the wall, the plaster cracking.

Caroline bit down harder, his cock pulsing inside her, twitching, a tingle started at the base of his spine.

He slid his hands to her thighs gripping them tightly as he pushed into her harder, faster, burying himself as deep as he possibly could his pelvis grinding against her. "Caroline," he groaned against her neck.

Caroline's hands slid down his back nails scraping, grasping his ass urging him on.

With a growl he drove into her again and again, he came with a grunt as she clamped down on him, filling her with his essence.

Caroline pulled her mouth from him, her eyes glazed over and his blood, dripping down the corner of her mouth.

Klaus' eyes flashed, and Caroline didn't so much as flinch, she wrapped herself around him, keeping him buried deep inside her.

Klaus reached up cradling her as he leaned in, his tongue licking up the blood from the corner of her mouth, give a small growl before plundering her mouth, tasting his blood on her tongue.

Caroline gave a small moan from the back of throat her body arched, her nipples scraping against his chest.

When she gave a small push to his chest, her legs loosening their grip, he pulled back and out of her with a grunt, rolling onto his back.

"How-How did we go from arguing to having sex so quickly?" Caroline panted.

Klaus turned his head, raising an eyebrow at her. "The tension. The moment you started yelling at me, I wanted to give you a different reason for raising your voice."

Caroline snorted. "You can't resort to sex every time we argue, no matter how amazing it is."

"I don't know. It felt pretty great to me. And I prefer having you with me than walking away." Klaus responded.

Caroline moved onto her side and curled against him. "I'm not gonna end things just because we don't agree. I knew who you were when we started this and I don't expect you to stop being you just because we're together now."

Klaus searched her face for any sign of a lie or some kind of manipulation, but there wasn't any.

He pressed his mouth to hers and pushed her on her back, he settled back into the cradle of her thighs, tangling their fingers together, pressing their clasped hands into the mattress and pressed forward slowly inch by inch, pushing back inside her welcoming body and it felt like coming home.

* * *

"You ok?" Hayley asked Elijah.

"I'm better now," Elijah answered. "How was your day?"

"Killer. What's with the artwork?" Hayley wondered, eyeing all the drawing Elijah had laid out on a table.

"Davina's sketches," Elijah answered. "I wonder if they represent some kind of premonition. They seem to suggest something is coming. Something sinister."

Hayley's eyes widened as she recognized the woman in the sketches. "Oh, my god. Isn't that…"

* * *

"Hello, Celeste." Sophie greeted, having finally found the dead witches unconsecrated grave.

* * *

Hayley pressed her phone to her ear, her face pinched in stress. "Come on, Sophie. Pick up. Pick up."

Hayley feared things were about to get so much worse than they already are.

* * *

 **A/N: I know everyone wants Caroline and Klaus to find out the truth about what Hayley did and they will around chapter 22 or 23.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing. It's appreciated. :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Okay, so the reveal doesn't happen this chapter however it does happens in the next one. I already have it all planned out.**

* * *

"The Italians call them Strega. The Yoruba of West Africa call them Aje, meaning mother. Where my mother was from, they called them Hexa, and here we call them witch. Over the centuries, vampires have fought them and fought beside them, bedded them and burned them. Whether adversary or ally, they have been a force to be reckoned with." Elijah spoke to the room. "Their ancestral magic anchors this city. There's never been one all-powerful witch until Davina."

"Who is now tucked in safe and sound down the hall under my protection. Your Celeste was quite beautiful and a portent of evil according to our volatile artist in residence." Klaus commented pointedly.

"Yes. Perhaps Davina's mistaken what she calls evil for power." Elijah suggested. "Celeste was certainly very powerful in her day, but she's been dead for over 200 years. I don't understand. Why all these sketches now?"

"Why does any witch do anything?" Klaus countered.

* * *

Marcel entered Davina's room with a food tray, setting it on the end of her bed.

"Go away!" Davina shouted at the sight of him and sent him flying against the wall, he hit the ground roughly.

"Come on." Marcel pushed back to his feet, unfazed by her lashing out at him. "You got to be starving. You haven't eaten since-"

"Since your best friend killed my best friend?" Davina cut him off with the harsh reminder.

"Davina, I'm sorry about what happened to this kid Tim." Marcel began.

"I'm sorry you don't hate Klaus for what he did or want to make him pay." Davina spat angrily.

"He'll pay for what he did one way or the other, but right now, I just want to make peace with you." Marcel insisted.

"Why? So we can be one big happy Frankenstein family?" Davina demanded scornfully.

* * *

"Well, that's going well," Klaus commented, and Caroline gave a small scoff at his remark, sitting beside him.

"If you were trying to win the girl's trust, perhaps poisoning her one true love was not the most splendid idea." Elijah threw back at Klaus.

"Oh. Are there any more inopportune deaths you'd like to wave in my face?" Klaus responded, used to Elijah's judgment.

"Give me a month. I'll get you list." Elijah told him.

"Are you sure a month is long enough?" Caroline tilted her head in thought.

Klaus shot her a look. "Whose side are you on?"

"Hey, I was only considering the fact that you've been alive for a thousand years, the amount of people you have killed that didn't need to die has to be endless." Caroline defended.

Klaus lips twisted into a wry smile. "Young, old, dead, or alive, witches are a pain in the ass."

Caroline couldn't not nod her head in agreement with that truthful statement.

* * *

Davina was sitting on her bed when suddenly she felt her stomach twist in knots and something traveling up her chest, she haunched forward and began throwing up. Dirt spewing from her mouth.

"Davina," Marcel shouted alarmed. "Davina!"

Caroline rushed into the room. "Oh, my God. Is that dirt?"

Klaus was hot on her heels. "What's with all the racket?" he caught sight of Davina throwing up dirt of all things. "Bloody hell."

* * *

"Elijah?" Hayley walked toward the person she was looking for. "There's something you need to know."

The house began to shake like there's an earthquake. Hayley and Elijah shared a startled look and walked out onto the balcony to see Rebekah.

"What the hell is going on?" Rebekah demanded, looking up at them, expecting them to have the answers.

"Davina," Klaus answered.

* * *

"Hey." Rebekah walked into Davina's room. "What kind of game do you think you're playing? I said disrupt the household, not destroy the whole city."

"I didn't do it. Not on purpose." Davina protested, her eyes becoming uncertain. "I-I don't know what's wrong with me."

* * *

"This is madness. How can a 16-year-old girl shake the entire French quarter?" Klaus questioned.

"I've seen her rock the church, but I've never seen anything like this," Marcel admitted.

"I've never seen magic this power, but Bonnie channeled the spirits of hundred dead witches once," Caroline commented.

"I remember," said Klaus. "She nearly killed me, but Davina isn't channeling a 100 witches. I don't think this is the same thing. This is harvest magic." Klaus looked at Marcel. "How did you control her when she was in the attic?"

"I didn't have to, but then I never killed her boyfriend," Marcel responded.

Caroline wondered how many times that was going to be brought up today.

"Yes, yes. We've been over this part already." Klaus said, growing annoyed with the constant reminder. "The point is in her present state she's useless as a tool against the witches."

"And we've been over this she is not a tool," Caroline said as Marcel glared heatedly.

"Something's wrong with her." Klaus insisted.

"She has too much power that she cannot control. That much we already knew. But why is it manifesting itself in such an aggressive manner?" Elijah questioned and turned to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Klaus called after him.

"This is witch business. Let's ask a witch." Elijah left the room and started down the hall only to be approached by Hayley just outside of the room.

"You're going to see Sophie," Hayley said knowingly.

"You don't have to eavesdrop. I keep nothing from you." Elijah told her, there was no need for her to sneak around their home.

"Yeah. Well, I don't want to keep anything from you either, and if you're going out to see Sophie, then there's something that you should know." Hayley began, waving her hands around nervously as she continued. "She called me and asked me for a favor. She promised me that she would help break the curse that Marcel put on my people in exchange for some information." The more she talked, the more her words were jumbled in a rush to tell Elijah everything. And I didn't think anything of it, but then Davina started doing those pictures of Celeste-"

"Whatever this is, you have to tell me." Elijah cut through her nervous rambling.

"Sophie wanted to find Celeste's remains, so I went through your journals, and I found out where you buried her, and then I told her," Hayley confessed, voice heavy with guilt. "I know it was stupid, and it was snoopy, And I-I should have just asked you." She looked up at him pleading, his silence unnerving her. "Please say something. Please."

"She wanted to be left in peace. When a witch's remains are consecrated, that power fuels the rest of their community. Celeste did not want her remains to be found." Elijah looked at her like he never seen her before. "She made me promise to bury her where she would not be found. You not only violated my privacy, You have broken my promise to her."

"I thought they were just bones, Elijah." Hayley's voice cracked, sounding like she might cry.

"If you truly believed that, why didn't you ask me where to find her?" Elijah asked, with a look of betrayal, sure Hayley knew what she was doing yet she chose to do it anyway.

* * *

"If that's dinner, I pass." Sophie quipped to Sabine.

"Sophie, where have you been?" Sabine questioned.

"Short answer- grave robbing," Sophie replied. "Stop whatever you're doing. We need to find Davina. I figured out a way to complete the harvest."

"What?" Sabine looked at her, surprised. "How?"

"We need an elder to do it, right?" asked Sophie. "I figured out a way how to become one."

"Soph, you can't just become an elder." Sabine reminded. "That power has to be bestowed upon you by the other elders, all of whom are dead. Following my logic?"

"How about follow your history?" Sophie countered. "I did research. In 1742, there was a witch massacre that wiped out all the elders, so they decided whoever consecrated the most powerful dead witch in the community became an elder. It worked for them."

"Teeny flaw. What powerful witch is even left for you to bury?" Sabine questioned.

"Meet Celeste Marie-Hélène Dubois, Elijah Mikaelson's old lover." Sophie poured the skull head out from the brown bag she carried. "She was drowned in 1821 for being a witch. He buried her, never told anyone where."

"So how the hell did you find her?" Sabine demanded.

"I bribed Hayley to read his journals, and then I dug her ass up so I could consecrate her bones and absorb her power," Sophie answered.

Sabine's eyes narrowed. "That's not disrespectful."

"Yeah? Well, we only have a couple more weeks to complete the harvest." Sophie responded. Besides, it wasn't like it was the worst thing she has done in the name of the harvest.

"Soph, I'm aware of our deadline, but-"

"And if we fail, the witches are done for in this town." Sophie cut Sabine off. "Our power will fade for good. Those girls sacrificed will never resurrect. My niece will never come back. If digging up some creepy old bones means I get Monique back, I don't care about anything else."

She had proved that moreover when she stole Klaus's children from their true mother and the things she had to do to ensure that a vampire could get pregnant. It left a stain on her soul. A black mark that she'll never get out.

"I happen to care," Elijah announced his presence, looking at Sophie directly. "You're coming with me."

* * *

"So you have stolen the remains of the very person that Davina's been drawing for months. Would you care to explain this startling coincidence?" Elijah questioned Sophie, he had taken her back to the compound.

"I can't," said Sophie. "I didn't even know who Celeste Dubois was until I-"

The house shook suddenly like another earthquake had struck.

"Was that Davina?" asked Sophie stunned.

"Charming little habit she's developed," Klaus stated.

"It's called losing control." Caroline glared at Sophie.

"And the earthquake I felt today?" asked Sophie, ignoring Caroline's glare.

"Also Davina, and she's taken to vomiting dirt," Rebekah informed her.

"Oh. We have a huge problem," said Sophie gravely. "I thought that we had more time, but we need to complete the harvest now."

"No," Caroline said immediately. "We are not sacrificing Davina for some stupid witch ritual for power."

"You don't understand." Sophie shook her head. "We no longer have a choice."

"Said the desperate witch conveniently," Klaus remarked dryly.

"I'm serious. That earthquake you just felt a preview of the disaster movie that is about to hit us." Sophie insisted gravely.

"Why should we believe you?" Elijah asked doubtfully.

"You've met Davina, you know her story. For months now, she's been holding all the power of the three girls sacrificed in the harvest ritual." Sophie stated, needing the point she was trying to make, be driven home with everyone in the room. "A force that was meant to flow through her and back into the earth. One person was never meant to hold that much power. It's tearing her apart, and it will take us down with it. "

Caroline didn't want to believe her, but if she was telling the truth they needed to find a way to stop Davina's power from killing her and everyone who lived in New Orleans, and they needed to do it without sacrificing Davina in a stupid blood ritual for power.

* * *

Josh moved down the street, keeping to the alleys and crowds, he didn't know when Klaus would strike, but he didn't want to be the man's next victim.

Josh was so busy continually looking over his shoulder that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he looked ahead only to see Caroline standing a few feet away, her eyes set on him.

He swallowed and thought about running; however, what good would that do. He could only run for so long.

He held his head high and walked forward until he was right in front of her. "Here to take me to your boyfriend?"

"No," Caroline shook her head as the wind blew strongly around them. "I'm here to bring you to Davina."

"This is her, isn't it?" Josh looked around, the wind, so powerful storefront windows rattled.

"Yes," Caroline answered. "The harvest magic is consuming her. It's harming not only the city but her, and I think she could really use her friend right about now. That's where you come in."

"Where is she?" Josh questioned worriedly.

"Back at the compound, C'mon," Caroline turned on her heel.

Josh followed, falling into step beside her, wanting to be there for Davina if she needed him. "What about Klaus? What if he kills me the minute he sees me?"

"He won't. I'll make sure of it." Caroline assured him.

"How? I doubt asking nicely will work." When Caroline just stared at him, his eyes widened. "You were just going to ask him not to kill me?"

"Yes,"

"If I go with you, I am so dead." Josh groaned.

"Trust me, Josh," Caroline told him, settling her hand on his shoulder. "I'm not looking to get anyone killed. I just want to help Davina, and I know you do too."

Josh was quiet for a moment regarding her closely. "Yeah, okay. I'll go with you to see her."

Caroline smiled encouragingly.

* * *

"We need to prepare. According to Sophie Deveraux, as Davina self-destructs, she'll cycle through four stages that represent the four elements that bound together the harvest." Klaus informed father, Kieran.

The two met in the heart of the French Quarter.

"The earthquake?" Kieran questioned.

"Yes," Klaus answered. "Earth stage comes first."

* * *

"Then comes wind, and since each stage is more intense than the last, let's just say you'll blow the roof off this place," Rebekah told Davina, standing at the end of her bed.

* * *

"Then after the wind is water," Klaus told Kieran.

"Rain, flood. How bad?" Kieran questioned concerned.

"Quite bad actually, but that's not the worst of it," Klaus answered.

* * *

"The last stage is fire, and since it's the last," Sophie trailed off warningly to the group gathered at the compound.

* * *

"It will be by far the worst." Said Klaus. "But I didn't take over this town to watch it burn to the ground."

"You can stop this, right?" asked Kieran worriedly.

"Yes, but you're not gonna like how," Klaus warned him. Caroline believed there was another way, but he was not in agreement. The only way this was going to end was with Davina's death.

* * *

"They want to complete the harvest," Rebekah informed Davina, standing across from her bed.

"No!" Davina protested in fear.

"The witches say you'll be resurrected." Rebekah insisted.

They're liars!" Davina accused. "They'll say anything to get what they want just like Marcel, just like you."

"Davina, you may think that I don't care about you, but you're wrong," Rebekah told her sincerely. "I know what it's like to have your life stripped away from you because of other people's bad decisions. How do you think I became a vampire?"

* * *

"You've convinced my siblings. You have yet to convince us." Elijah told Sophie, referring to himself and Marcel.

"We don't have time to waste," Sophie said urgently. "The first sign's already come and gone. "

"So fix her." Marcel insisted.

"She can't be fixed," Sophie told him her voice rising.

* * *

Rebekah walked into Davina's room with a syringe.

"What-what is that?" Davina asked fearfully.

"The more upset you become, the faster you deteriorate," said Rebekah. "I compelled up some sedative."

"No, no, no!" Davina shook her head frantically, her fear evident.

"We keep you calm, we keep you alive Davina." Rebekah tried to reason with her as she moved forward.

"Stop!" Davina protested as Rebekah stepped toward her.

* * *

"She can't be saved," Sophie stated with complete certainty. "This will not stop at the earth sign, and if you wait it out, you immortals will be the only ones left to argue about it."

* * *

"No! Please! No! Please! Nooo!" Davina begged terrified.

High winds blew through the Quarter, and Rebekah knew she didn't have a choice she moved forward and injected the sedative despite Davina's protests, and she fell unconscious, slumping back on the bed.

The wind stopped suddenly, erasing any doubts Rebekah had about Sophie telling the truth.

"What the hell did you just do?" Caroline demanded, stepping into the room.

"Davina!" Josh rushed forward in concern, pulling the now unconscious girl into her arms.

"I just gave her a sedative." Rebekah stepped away, backing off. "As long as she's awake, things are just going to get worse."

"Or maybe the presence of a friend, someone she trust could have calmed her." Caroline snapped, indicating to Josh. "We can't keep her sedated forever."

"We're doing what we have to do." Rebekah defended. "What's best for this city."

"You mean what's best for you." Caroline accused, and Josh looked at her surprise that she would speak to an Original like that.

"How long are you planning on being pissed at me?" Rebekah glared.

"I'm thinking a century maybe by then you know what it means not to turn on people because it suits you." Caroline threw at her.

Josh didn't know Caroline that well, but it was then that he decided he liked her. She wasn't afraid to stand up for others even when the person was a whole lot more dangerous than her.

* * *

"Convinced now?" Sophie asked archly.

Caroline clenched her jaw, walking into the room. Josh behind her. Even if what Sophie said was right, they still could not sacrifice Davina. She was just a kid.

Klaus's eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Joshua, and he moved before anyone could react, wrapping his hand around his neck. "How kind of you to save me from having to track you down myself."

"Don't." Josh tried to pull at his hands.

"Don't what? Don't kill you?" Klaus grip tightened. "Now why would I show you mercy?"

Caroline stepped forward. "Because I want you to." Klaus's head swiveled around to her. "I want Josh alive. Don't kill him. I could use a friend around here, and Josh seems like an excellent choice."

Klaus faltered, his grip loosening around Josh's throat. "Him? Why?"

Caroline looked at Josh, whose eyes were wide with fear. "He came here knowing you would be here even though you terrify him because Davina needed him. He put his friend's needs before his own well being. That kind of friend is hard to find, and that kind of loyalty should be rewarded, not punished. I am asking you not to kill him."

Klaus turned back to Josh. "It seems you left quite the impression on Caroline. Count your blessing for that." he let his hand fall away from his neck. "As long as you remain in Caroline's good graces, you have nothing to fear from me."

Josh nodded vigorously. "Got it. Don't get on Caroline's bad side." his eyes went to her. "Thank you."

Josh honestly couldn't believe that all she did was ask and Klaus had given it to her without question. Clearly, he underestimated Caroline's influence on Klaus.

It made him wonder just who Caroline Forbes was? And what was it about her that caused Klaus Mikaelson the most terrifying man he had ever met to be so enamored with her? Why did she have such a profound effect on a monster?

* * *

"We sedated her too heavily," Elijah claimed.

"Well, if this is her sedated, I'd hate to see her otherwise," said Klaus. "We all agreed that Davina must be sacrificed. There's no need to let her blow the roof off our heads in the meantime."

"What!?" Josh exclaimed.

"We did not agree to that!" Caroline protested.

"No way! You're not touching her!" Marcel raged shoving Klaus angrily.

"Ok. I'll let you have that one." Klaus told him.

"Marcel, no one wishes to see Davina come to harm less than I, but there is no scenario here in which we simply wait this out. She's going to die." Elijah stated.

"Just shut up!" Caroline snapped at him glaring.

"Excuse me." Elijah looked at her affronted.

"If you gave a damn about Davina you would be looking for an alternative to save her." Caroline accused.

"There is no other way," Elijah insisted.

"According to Sophie, the witch who screwed over everybody here." Marcel retorted.

"I wouldn't trust Sophie if she were the last witch alive," Caroline said in agreement with Marcel. "For all, we know she could only be after the power Davina possesses."

"Exactly," Marcel said. "Finally someone that is not me is making some sense right now."

"The harvest was working before it was stopped. If a nonbeliever like Sophie Deveraux can come to have faith that these girls will be resurrected, then I, also, am a believer." Elijah reasoned.

"I saved Davina from the harvest, and now you want me to just hand her over?" Marcel demanded.

"We can't do that," Josh spoke up.

"Do you think that I'm happy about this?" Klaus challenged. "If the witches complete the harvest, not only do they regain their power, we lose our weapon against them. The earthquake I was willing to chalk up to hideous coincidence, but these winds? If Davina is not sacrificed, then every inch of earth that shook, everything blowing about now will soon be drenched in water and consumed by fire."

"Oh! Now you care about the city." Marcel retorted.

"We ought to. We built it." Elijah said.

"And we all saw it burnt to the ground twice. I will not let that happen again. Do I make myself clear?" Klaus stated,

"Yeah." Marcel nodded eyes hard. "Yeah." he turned and left.

Caroline watched him go and then shook her head. "No, this is not okay."

"Caroline, we don't have time to argue about this," Klaus told her.

"It would matter if we did because you're going to do what you think is best, either way, right?" Caroline demanded. "I will tell you right now I'm not going to quietly stand by while all of you lead that girl to the slaughter."

"You don't have a choice," Klaus told her.

Caroline glared. She always had a choice. She turned on her heel and walked from the room, shaking her head.

Klaus sighed as he watched her walk out of the room.

Josh looked at Klaus uneasily before following in the direction Caroline had went.

"Not a people person, are you, Niklaus?" said Elijah dryly.

"Nonsense. I love people." Klaus countered. "Just on my way to warn a couple of prominent ones in case the weather gets out of hand. If you fancy yourself as plus diplomatic, perhaps you'd like to come along."

"No. Soon Sophie Deveraux shall be consecrating Celeste's remains, and though her actions are reprehensible, still I should pay my respects." Elijah insisted.

"Hey." Hayley greeted, walking into the room. "Do you have a minute?" she asked Elijah.

"Just on my way out," Elijah said brusquely and brushed past her out of the room.

Klaus noted the way Hayley's face fell and followed Elijah out. "Which one of us is the people person again?

* * *

"Hey, wait up," Josh called after Caroline, catching up with her as she was leaving the compound. "What are we going to do about Davina? We can't just let them sacrifice her."

"I agree," Caroline told him, turning down the busy sidewalk. "For now as long as Marcel is there she's safe. I don't know him well, but I already know he would do whatever it takes to protect Davina."

"Okay, where are you going?" Josh questioned. "Because in case you forgot the city is on the verge of burning to the ground because of witchy hijinks. Now is not exactly the time to be taking a stroll among the city."

"I guess it's a good thing I'm not just taking a stroll. I have something I need to do."

Josh brows furrowed. "Can I come with?"

Caroline paused midstep turning to him. "That depends?"

Josh frowned. "On what?"

"On how you feel about werewolves," Caroline said yet again surprising Josh.

* * *

Caroline walked up to the house that she had come with Kieran to, Josh trailed behind her.

"I can't believe you're working with werewolves. Aren't they like supposed to be our enemy or something?" Josh questioned, feeling uneasy.

"Okay, first, can we get past this stupid vampire-werewolf feud? It's stupid. Secondly, I am not working with werewolves. I'm helping them. There's a difference." Caroline stated matter of factly as she raised her fist and rapped on the door.

"And you're sure their not gonna like attack me or anything?" Josh questioned.

"I'm 67 percent sure that you will come to no harm from them."

Josh's eyes widened comically. "67 percent?!"

Caroline chuckled at the way his voice had risen dramatically in alarm.

The door opened, Zachary appeared in the doorway. "Caroline." he greeted, his eyes narrowing on Josh. "You brought another vampire with you?"

"I did, however, he's completely harmless. Like a puppy."

"Hey!" Josh protested. "I'm not a puppy."

Zack snorted and opened the door wider, inviting them inside. "Come in."

Caroline stepped inside, and Josh followed her hesitantly.

"How is everyone?" Caroline asked, following Zack in the kitchen.

"Well, we're no longer going hungry or scrounging for scraps for one. I suppose we have you to thank for that."

"You don't need to thank me, I'm just glad I could help in any way I could," Caroline responded.

"What brings you by?" Zack leaned against the counter.

"I'm sure you've noticed the weird shit going on with the weather." Caroline began.

"Earthquake, unnatural wind, kinda hard not to notice," Zack responded wryly.

"Well, it's about to get worse, and I thought maybe you should take the pack and get out of New Orleans until this all blows over."

Zack's eyes narrowed. "You want us to just pick up and run?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I just think it will be better not to get mixed up in what is happening plus I've been looking into remodeling the place, and it would go faster if you were staying somewhere else temporarily."

Zackery paused, looking around. It did need some serious remodeling, the wire had stopped working upstairs, and a pipe had burst, the water damage so extensive the ceiling weakened and came down in the dining room.

"Where would we go?" Zack finally asked.

"Klaus has a mansion in Mystic Falls. It's a small town and where I'm originally from. You could go there, and it would only be for a few weeks."

Zack nodded, considering. "You'll let me know when the place is finished so we can come back?"

"Of course." Caroline nodded.

Zach nodded, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. "Do I need to know anything else about this place?"

"If you go into town, keep a low profile. Blend in, avoid the Salvatore's at all cost. Especially Damon. Their old vampires but Damon's the one you really got to look out for. My mom's the sheriff, her name's Elizabeth Forbes if you need anything, just ask her. I'll let her know you're coming. She can stop by and help you get settled in." Caroline explained. "Just do your best not to draw attention to yourselves, and you'll be fine. I already made arrangements for some deliveries so you will have everything you will need." she dug around in her pocket and pulled out some money that she may or may not have stolen from Elijah while he'd been distracted with whatever the hell was going on with him and Hayley. "Three rented cars will be here in an hour to pick you up and take you to Mystic Falls, all you have to do is pack a few bags."

"I've been with you since you found me, when did you have time to arrange all this?" Josh wondered.

"Haven't you ever heard to have contingency plans in case of emergencies. Besides, do you think I spend my time following Klaus around? I have my independence beyond him." Caroline defended.

Zack brow furrowed. "You really thought all of this through, haven't you?"

Caroline nodded. "I want to help. I care that all of you are going to be okay. Your Klaus's pack and as far as I can tell you are good people."

Zack nodded just as another male wolf walked in. "Tell everyone to be ready to go. We're heading out for a few weeks."

The male wolf nodded, walking back out.

"Does Klaus know what you're doing for us?" Zack asked Caroline.

"No," she answered. "If you're worried about Klaus's reaction, don't be. If this is something I want to do that I care about, then he'll do whatever it takes to help. Besides your his pack, he'd be fine with me helping you."

Zach shook his head. "A vampire fighting for wolves. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to knowing that I can trust a vampire."

Caroline smiled at him. "I'm glad to be the exception."

Zack grinned. "It's a good thing you're so likable. Like a ray of sunshine."

Caroline laughed, and Josh looked between them, unable to believe he was seeing two supernatural creatures who couldn't be more different, who were supposed to be enemies, getting along so well.

What the hell was with Caroline? Almost everyone seems to be drawn to her in some way. Werewolves. Klaus. Who else was going to fall into her orbit?

* * *

"I have to admit that I was surprised when you called asking me to meet you here." Elijah took a seat on the park bench next to Caroline.

It was the same park bench she sat with Hayley on when they had argued over Hayley wanting to use wolfbane to end her pregnancy.

"I wanted to talk with you without any prying eyes."

Elijah looked at Josh. "Then, why is he here?"

"Because he wants to be and I don't see him protesting what I am about to ask of you."

Elijah's eyes turned inquisitive. "You have my attention?"

"Everyone but Marcel seems pretty dead set on sacrificing for Davina this stu"

"It's the only way to end all of this," Elijah interrupted.

"Okay, one I wasn't done speaking and two it's rude to interrupt someone so abruptly, now as I was saying this stupid harvest ritual and I was trying to think of way Davina can be saved and then it occurred to me, you have the answer to saving her."

"You're not talking about turning her to a vampire, are you?" Josh asked, worriedly. "Cause I've heard that's something no witch ever wants to happen to them."

"God no, I don't want to turn her into a vampire," Caroline exclaimed. "Elijah has an elixir for a sacrifice ritual that just might save her life."

"What?" Josh's eyes widened with a look of hope.

"How do you know about that?" Elijah's brow furrowed.

"I remember Stefan telling me about it once you were going to give it to Elena, but Damon had given her his blood instead." Okay, Damon had forced Elena to drink his blood. Caroline hadn't been surprised. "We can use that elixir to save Davina."

"That elixir was created by a witch over five hundred years ago. There's no guarantee it will work."

"We don't know that this ritual will work either, but at least with this, there's a chance she'll come back," Caroline argued. "It's better than blind faith in Sophie of all people. It's better than nothing."

"And you expect me to just hand the elixir over to you?" Elijah wondered at Caroline's demands, her audacity to believe she had any right to demand anything from him and for what? Because of Niklaus's attachment to her.

"Yes as I see it you owe me." Caroline glared at him. "You have been a stuck up asshole since I met you. The first thing you did was evade my mind."

"Okay, that's not cool," Josh mumbled sending Elijah judging looks.

Elijah shot him a look that indicated he wanted Josh to be quiet. "I apologized for that."

"You think an apology means a damn to me?" Caroline demanded. "An apology does not wipe everything under the rug. It doesn't absolve you. You invaded my privacy and not only that you have treated me like I'm nothing but a phase Klaus is going through. Get that thought out of your head. I'm am not going anywhere, and Klaus sure as hell is not going through a fucking phase where I'm just an infatuation for him."

"Your not the first woman for my brother to get obsessed with." Elijah defended.

"But none of those women were me." Caroline was confident in her place in Klaus's heart. "I'm not an infatuation. Klaus is in love with me. I don't need to hear him say the words to know that. It's in the way he looks at me, talks to me, his actions. He would rather burn this city, a city he loves to the ground then to ever allow any harm to come to me."

"Careful Miss Forbes that you don't overestimate your value." Elijah cautioned.

"Threats don't scare me. I've been through more than anyone should, and I know you're aware of that. I know you overheard my talk with Klaus about when I was human. If I can handle what I went through as a human, I can handle anything as a vampire. Including any threats you want to throw at me." Caroline crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly. "Now we can keep arguing and hashing out our clear dislike for one another, or you can just agree to give me the elixir so we can save a young girl's life because she doesn't deserve to die like some sacrificial lamb."

Josh held his breath as he waited, half scared Elijah would kill Caroline for the way she spoke to him, and he was sure that would incite a war between Klaus and Elijah.

Finally, after a moment of neither backing down, Elijah spoke. "Very well, I will retrieve the elixir and give it to you. We can at least try to make sure Davina comes back."

Josh let out a breath, and Caroline smiled victoriously. "Great and hey I'll do you solid and won't tell Klaus how you just threatened me. I doubt that would have gone over too well with him."

She stood and grabbed Josh by the arm, steering him away as she called over her shoulder. "See you back at the compound. I'll be waiting."

"I can't believe you just got away talking to an Original like that." Josh looked at her in disbelief.

Caroline just patted him on his shoulder. "Original or not it's no excuse to be a self-righteous asshat."

Josh laughed, deciding then and there that he liked Caroline. She was his kind of people.

* * *

"A fat lot of good that will do." Said Rebekah.

Roussos was all but empty, save the two of them.

"I don't really have time to socialize." Sophie retorted.

"Good. Neither do I. When you're done burying your witchy bits on sacred ground, are you prepared to perform the harvest?" Rebekah questioned. "You do realize you have to slit a girl's throat, a very sweet girl as it turns out. "

"If it means I get my niece Monique back, I can handle anything," Sophie responded, she's done worse. "Why are you really here?"

"When all this is done after Davina is resurrected and the witches get their power back, you'll have a decision to make," Rebekah told her.

"Enlighten me," Sophie replied.

"A witch at her full power can trade body blows with a vampire punch for punch. Believe me, I know," said Rebekah.

"So do I," said Sophie. "Be nice to have a fair fight for a change."

"Well, fair only gets you so far, luv. Clever gets you further. After this, Marcel will still be here, and so will Klaus, and you know better than anyone that those two don't fight fair. You are going to need an original on your side, and I'm gonna need a witch on mine if we're gonna stop those two from running things." Rebekah reasoned.

"Am I missing something?" Sophie questioned, confused. "Why would you side with me?"

"Sometimes, what's more, important is not who you're siding with but who you're siding against," Rebekah answered.

* * *

Marcel stood in Davina's room, watching her sleep. He could remember clearly the night he met her. The night of the harvest.

"No, no! Let go of me! Stop it!" Her screams echoed all around him, filled with desperation.

Marcel remembered wrapping his arms tight around and saying reassuringly. "I got you. I got you right here."

He stepped toward Davina.

"Hey. Klaus said not to." The vampire that was being kept on watch stepped into the room.

"I'm done caring what Klaus says." Marcel snapped, grabbing the vampire and snapping his neck, he moved to Davina gather her in his arms and vamp sped out of there.

* * *

Caroline barely stepped into the courtyard with Josh before Klaus was in front of her, waves of anger coming off of him. "Where the bloody hell have you been, Caroline?"

"I'm sorry I didn't know you were my jail warden and I have to tell you whenever I step off prison grounds."

Klaus clenched his jaw. "That is not what I meant. You can come and go as you please but I would rather you do it when the city is not in the middle of a crisis being torn apart."

"I should be the least of your concerns then like you said we have a city falling apart, and unless we do something, things are only going to get worse. And unlike you, I don't believe letting Davina die is our only option."

"You will always be my concern." Klaus countered. "No matter what is happening, you are my priority. What was so important that you couldn't take the time to at least tell me what you were doing?"

"I think I might have found a way to save Davina."

"Well, that's great, but unfortunately Davina is gone." Rebekah came down the stairs with an angry look.

Klaus whirled around. "What?!"

"Marcel took her. Their both gone." Rebekah stated.

"What do you mean they're gone?" Josh sped past but was back a moment later, eyes wide. "They're gone."

"Yes, Josh, we have established that." Rebekah deadpanned.

Caroline took in a slow breath and released it. Why the hell couldn't just one thing go right for once? "This is just fucking great. I find a possible way to save Davina and bam, she's gone." Though Caroline completely understood what Marcel was attempting to do. He was trying to protect someone he cared about.

"I'm sorry you what?" Rebekah turned to her in surprise, finally taking in what Caroline had said.

"How do you plan on saving Davina?" Klaus questioned. "Sophie made it pretty clear what has to happen if New Orleans and everyone is going to survive it."

"Well, 500 years ago, you were going to sacrifice Katherine to break your curse."

"What the bloody hell does that have to do with anything," Rebekah asked baffled.

"Elijah had an elixir created by a witch to save her life. He still has it."

"You think if we give it to Davina, she'll survive?" Klaus asked doubtfully.

"It's worth a shot, it's better than trusting Sophie's word." Caroline crossed her arms. "After everything, she's done do you really think we can trust her?"

"I know I probably don't get to weigh in on this, but I think Caroline's right," Josh interjected. "At least this way Davina has a chance."

"Then we better find her and Marcel," Klaus said finally, locking eyes with Caroline. "We'll do this your way."

Caroline relaxed, her shoulders dropping she uncrossed her arms and reached for his hand, a silent apology for all their arguing.

Klaus tightened his hand around Carolines and tugged her forward. He lifted her hand to his mouth, brushing his lips across her knuckles and the inside of her wrist.

Caroline sighed and brushed a kiss against his mouth, uncaring that they weren't alone.

Rebekah looked away, eyes narrowing. For a thousand years, her brother had ruined every chance she had at happiness at finding love, and here he was getting everything he ever wanted. Once again, what Nik wants he gets.

Josh brow furrowed as he watched Caroline and Klaus. He knew Klaus to be terrifying, a monster, cruel, but he was so gentle with Caroline. It was like he was a different person when it came to her. It was weird to see, and it made him wonder what it was about Caroline that inspired kindness from someone as evil and cruel as Klaus Mikaelson.

* * *

"You don't have to be here for this," Sabine told Elijah, stepping away to speak with him without disturbing Sophie. "It's gonna take some time for Sophie to prepare for her consecration."

"I have time. I owe her this." Said Elijah.

"Care to elaborate why?" Sabine enquired.

"Have you ever experienced something so profound and wonderful that when it was taken from you, your life felt unbearable?" Elijah asked her.

"Yes, I have felt that, and I've got the scars to prove it," answered Sabine.

"I believe that when you love someone, and that person loves you in return, you're uniquely vulnerable. They have a power to hurt you that's like nothing else," said Elijah, his phone started ringing in his pocket, and he answered it. "Rebekah."

" _He's taken the girl_ ," Rebekah said in greeting.

"Who has?" Elijah asked.

* * *

"Bloody, bloody Marcel!" Rebekah snapped.

"And you wanted to run off and start a life with this backstabber." Klaus reminded her.

"Says the man who was shacking up with him, not two seconds before all this went down." Rebekah shot back. "Ok. We need to divide and conquer if we're gonna stand a chance. He could have gone anywhere. We need to find her now that you and Caroline have a way to save her."

" _A possibility, there's no guarantee_." Elijah clarified.

"But it's a chance." Caroline insisted.

" _Well, I'm here with Sabine. Perhaps we could try a locator spell_?" Elijah suggested.

" I'll talk to the priest," said Klaus. "They might even be at the church. It's the last place we'd think to look for them, right?"

"Ok." Rebekah agreed. "You check the church, I'll check everywhere else."

"We'll help," Caroline said, waving a hand between her and Josh who nodded.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Klaus questioned when he saw Hayley packing up a box of can food.

Hayley didn't look up as she placed more can goods in the box. She was doing her best to hold it together, but she couldn't stop thinking about the rift between her and Elijah and how much it hurt. "I was gonna take these to the-,"

"If you say, "bayou," I will find a nice comfy dungeon and throw you in it." Klaus cut her off. "This is not the night to be out there."

"For anyone." Hayley corrected, finally looking at him. "But some people don't have a choice."

"Right," said Klaus, noting how she was trying not to cry. It was clear to him she was trying to keep herself occupied as to not think about her fight with his brother. Pushing down his annoyance, he didn't need to deal with a crying pregnant girl, he sighed. "Grab that lot and come with me."

* * *

"I consecrate these bones to the earth. Ancestors, hear me. I consecrate these bones to the earth. Ancestors, hear me." Sophie chanted.

* * *

"This isn't working." Said Sabine she was trying to locate Davina but was failing to do so.

"She's nowhere to be found," said Elijah doubtfully.

"No. It's more like she's everywhere." Sabine corrected. "She's hemorrhaging magic. That means we have less time than we thought. We have got to find her. I have no clue where she is."

"Please concentrate. Try again." Elijah insisted.

* * *

Davina's eyes fluttered open, and the moment she saw Marcel, she used her magic to throw him away from her.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Marcel protested, picking himself back up.

"I don't believe you!" Davina cried angrily with betrayal. "You want to kill me just like everyone else."

"I'm the one who put a protection spell on you, Davina," Marcel told her in defense. "That's why Tim's dead, and you're not. And before you throw me again, if I had known anything was gonna happen to your friend, I would have protected him, too."

Davina looked at him in surprise. "You're the one who saved me?"

"Yeah, but now the witch who did the spell is in league with the rest of them, so I had to take you away." Marcel told her.

"So you could use me as a weapon?" Davina asked, not ready to trust him again on just his word.

"I'm trying to keep you safe." Marcel insisted. "Davina, look at me. I messed up. All this power that you have, it gave me an advantage. It helped me punish the witches, and it let me run the city, and I let that mean too much." Marcel truly regretted that he made her doubt how much he cared about her. "All right, but that's over with now. One survivor to another, all I want to do is keep you alive, I swear."

"I'm scared," Davina confessed, tears in her eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You're not alone," Marcel told her, closing the distance between them. "We'll fix this."

"You won't let them hurt me?" Davina asked him, eyes pleading, needing the only family she had known since this all began.

"No," Marcel answered. "Nobody's gonna touch you."

* * *

"We still haven't gone through all that you've already provided, Klaus," Kieran said, greeting Klaus as he Hayley walked into the church. "Still it should help a lot of people."

"Well, this newest bit isn't from me," Klaus replied, glancing at Hayley as he handed off the box of can goods.

"Oh?" Kieran looked at Hayley. "That's very kind of you...?"

"Hayley." Hayley supplied.

"And these people are?"

Klaus frowned. "These aren't my wolves? Where are they?"

"Your wolves?" Hayley looked at Klaus in surprise.

He ignored her and focused entirely on father Kieran. "Where are my wolves?"

Kieran frowned, his forehead creasing. "Caroline didn't tell you?"

Klaus's eyes narrowed at the mention of Caroline and the possibility of her keeping something from him. "Tell me what?"

"Caroline approached me, wanting to help in any way she could with the wolves, she's been a big help. She got a food drive going. And when all this started, Davina's magic, I mean, she had them relocated today."

"What? Where?" Klaus demanded.

"Your house back in a place called Mystic or something. She told them to lay low not draw attention to themselves, and she would contact them for when they can come back. She said it would only be a few weeks. She wanted to fix up the apartment complex their staying in once we avert the current crisis."

"She never said anything," Klaus said. Why the hell didn't Caroline tell him anything? Was she trying to keep it from him? He didn't see why? What she was doing, looking after his pack it meant something to him.

"I'm sorry but could you stop ignoring me for five minutes and tell me about your wolves?" Hayley demanded voice rising with annoyance. "What does that even mean?"

"I asked Father Kieran to give them shelter. He suffers from an incessant desire to do good." Klaus explained. "But now I need you to be useful," he told Kieran. "Marcel and Davina have disappeared. I assume from the stupefied look on your face they haven't sought refuge in your attic."

"No," said Kieran. "Those days are gone."

"Then energize your resources. I don't need to remind you how important it is they be found." Klaus said, his tone taking a threatening age.

"Yes." Kieran turned and left.

Hayley looked around. "These people, they're your werewolves, and the priest and Caroline are involved in all this. You're helping them?"

"They're my clan. They are not your pack" Klaus voice took on a possessive edge. "From very far back. They've fallen upon hard times, and their plight has brought out the philanthropist in me and apparently Caroline's new project. What can I say? Must be Elijah's influence. Or Caroline."

Hayley's brow furrowed. "What do you mean your clan?"

"The blood that runs in their veins runs in mine," Klaus told her. "And in our children's."

"This family gets more complicated by the second," Hayley muttered with a frown. To think Klaus's wolf family was still out there, still living on after a thousand years.

"Listen, Hayley, word of advice when dealing with Elijah. Don't do as I do. Just apologize." Klaus told her, knowing when she spoke of his family, she was still bothered by whatever was going on with her and his brother. "He's accomplished in many things, but he is a master of forgiveness."

Hayley looked away from him, her hand moving over her stomach as she pondered his words, and if she was willing to risk rejection by trying to reach out to Elijah again.

* * *

"Ok. Oh, ok. She's somewhere near the river." Said Sabine, looking at the map, she used to scry for Davina. "I can't be more specific."

"It's something," said Elijah. "It's a start."

"It didn't work," said Sophie, interrupting them. "I tried to consecrate her and absorb her magic, but there's nothing there."

"I don't understand." Elijah frowned. "A witch's magic is infused in her bones until consecrated."

"Well, then someone's already taken it because there's nothing there," Sophie said, trying to not let her frustration show.

"Has to be another way," Elijah stated.

"There is no other way," said Sabine.

"Unless you know of some superpowerful dead which whose bones were never consecrated, it's over," Sophie told him.

Elijah was quiet for a moment as he was able to think of one witch. "There is someone else actually." Elijah finally said. "Our mother."

* * *

"It's taken 1,000 years, but you've finally gone mad," Rebekah said her disapproval evident. "Our own mother?"

"Yes, our beloved mother, who Niklaus has affectionately placed in a coffin in his basement, not daggered but quite dead," said Elijah.

"Well, she did try to kill us all," Klaus interjected. He glanced at his phone, Caroline was still out with Josh searching for Davina. He needed to talk to her.

"Well, I say we put her to use and put her to rest once and for all." he shot Klaus a glare for his obvious distraction. "Could you stop worrying about Caroline long enough for us to discuss this." he glowered at Klaus.

"I won't worry about Caroline when she's here until then I will," Klaus muttered, sending her another text and putting his phone away and glowered at his brother. "Continue?"

"Now if we bury our mother on land owned by one of her descendants, she becomes a New Orleans witch, and we as her family share in that ancestral magic." Elijah laid out his plan.

"We're vampires, Elijah." Rebekah reminded condescendingly. "We can't practice magic or own property for that matter."

"Yes. With regard to practicing magic." Elijah agreed.

* * *

"That's where I come in." Said Sophie. "After they bury their mother, They can channel all her power to me. Only hitch is as conduits of Esther's magic, they need to participate in the harvest."

* * *

"And as for owning property. Not all of our mother's descendants are dead." Elijah said.

"The babies," Klaus said, following his brother's line of thought.

"The babies," Elijah confirmed. "The parish tax assessor's office is just steps outside of the quarter. Hayley now holds the title to the plantation. So if we bury our mother there and we consecrate those grounds, we can finish the harvest ritual."

"You're a bit of a mad genius, Elijah." Klaus lips ticked up into a smirk. "Count me in."

"Am I the only one thinking?" Rebekah demanded. "Our mother was the most powerful witch in history. If we bury her, we hand that power to our enemies to use against us."

"Given our circumstances, I hardly see that we have a choice, Rebekah," Elijah responded.

"I don't know why I bother," said Rebekah, annoyed. "You two will just do what you want anyway."

"No," replied Elijah. "Our decision must be unanimous."

"This is not a democracy." Klaus disagreed.

"You're quite right. This is family," said Elijah as it started to rain. "Water. The next sign's begun. Rebekah?"

"Kill a demon today, face the devil tomorrow." Said Rebekah after a moment of consideration. "Count me in."

"Well, this is no family reunion without our mother." Klaus grinned, gleefully pushing up from the couch. "I'll fetch her."

* * *

"So much for your grand schemes of using Davina for revenge," Thierry said, speaking in a dry tone.

"Survival first, plots to overthrow my brother second. Where would Marcel hide something precious to him?" Rebekah questioned.

"You think I'm just gonna offer that up so you can leave me here to rot?" Thierry asked, glaring. "Water runs downhill. You think I have to have drowned before to know how much that will suck."

"Fire kills vampires, Thierry. You think burning to ash will be pleasant?" Rebekah challenged. "Look. I am not forsaking you. I promise to live up to my end of the deal. I'll get you out of here when all of this is done. Just tell me where Marcel would go."

"There's a place by the docks," Thierry said after a moment of reluctance.

Rebekah nodded and walked back out of the Garden only to come face to face with Caroline and Josh.

"What are you doing here?" Rebekah asked, hoping they hadn't overheard her with Thierry.

"For the same reason you are, I'm sure. Thierry was Marcel's right-hand man, he has to know where Marcel might have taken Davina." Caroline answered.

Josh stepped forward anxiously. "Did he tell you anything? Where did Marcel take Davina?"

"C'mon," Rebekah waved them along. "Let's go tell Davina we might have found a way to save her life."

"Don't you mean Caroline found a way to save her life?" asked Josh and Rebekah glared in response.

"So where are we headed?" Caroline asked, wanting to stick to the point.

"The docks."

* * *

"If I can just wait it out a few more weeks…" Davina said through the pain, her entire body ached. "Help me, please."

" I will, and when it's over, I'll do what I should have done- get you out of town," Marcel assured her.

"I had a dream that Tim wasn't dead," said Davina, her voice sad and full of longing. "He played a song that he wrote for me, and he kissed me, and we were just normal."

"That sounds like a beautiful dream," said Rebekah announcing her presence.

Marcel startled at the sight of her and Caroline.

"Josh?" Davina said in surprise. "You're not supposed to be here."

Josh moved to her side. "I am exactly where I'm supposed to be."

She smiled sadly, reaching for his hands.

Marcel moved to protect Davina, glaring at the two blondes. "What are you doing here?"

Rebekah ignored him. "But it was just a dream."

"Get out!" Marcel ordered.

"This is killing her," Rebekah told him, referring to the pain Davina was in and her weakened state. "Your stubbornness will mean her death."

"I promised her I'd fight for her," Marcel said forcefully. "I'm not breaking that promise."

"No one is asking you not to fight. You're the only family that this girl has," said Rebekah sincerely. "You owe it to her to fight for her to live and thanks to Caroline we might have a way to make sure she makes it through this."

"What?" Davina's eyes shot to Caroline. "What is she talking about?"

* * *

"Where's Caroline?" Klaus demanded when she came to the cemetery alone.

"With Davina and Marcel," Rebekah answered. "They'll be here."

"Are you ready to do this?" Kieran asked the three Originals and Hayley gathered in the cemetery with Esther's casket.

"Always and forever." Klaus took out a dagger and sliced opened his hand then handed the dagger to Rebekah. Rebekah took the knife cutting her hand, then Elijah did the same, Hayley took the knife, and after a moment of hesitation followed their actions.

Kieran took the dagger from her and threw it into Esther's grave. "It's done."

* * *

"How can you be so sure it's going to work?" Marcel demanded.

"I'm not," Caroline answered.

"Your not." he glared. "You want Davina to go through with this, and you're not sure your elixir will even work."

"I don't want her to go through with this. I wish this weren't happening. I wish all Davina had to worry about was school, what she was going to wear, hell if the cute boy she's been dreaming about was going to ask her. I wish her life were easier but more than that I want her to live, and I believe if she takes the elixir, she has a chance."

Caroline moved to Davina's side and took her hand in hers. "I know we don't really know each other well yet, but I am a good person, and I wouldn't give you false hope if I didn't believe there was a chance this will work."

Davina's hand's tightened around hers. "You believe there's a real chance? That I'll come back?"

Caroline nodded. "I do, and this is a whole lot better than going on blind faith in Sophie."

"No," Marcel grabbed Caroline by the arm and yanked her away. "You're not doing this."

Caroline grabbed his wrist, twisted his arm, and pushed him away from her. "Don't touch me like that again."

Marcel looked at her, surprised by the quick reaction.

"Marcel, it's ok." Davina cut in bringing their attention back to her, she looked up at him with trusting eyes.

"No." Marcel took her into his arms, holding her the way a father would his sick child. "I failed you."

"I'll die whether I do this or not," said Davina with acceptance. "I mean, now the only option is- is whether I take everyone with me. If you look at it that way, it's kind of selfish not to do it, and if this works, I will come back."

"There has to be another way." Marcel insisted. "I can't take the risk you won't come back. This is not how it ends."

"And if it is... If this is all I have, I've had a lot," said Davina, voice laden with emotion. "I had Monique, and I had Tim and Josh," Josh smiled sadly. "And I had someone who fought for me from the moment you met me."

Marcel's eyes filled with emotion. "Ah, Davina."

"Most people don't get that even if they live to be a hundred," Davina said with tears in her voice, smiling bravely. "Marcel, I'm ready."

Caroline felt like she had been intruding, Marcel's bond with Davina reminding her of a father's relationship with his child.

Caroline reached into her pocket and produced the elixir, she had got it from Elijah before tracking Rebekah down. "I really hope this works, Davina."

Davina's hand closed around the vial. "Me too, if it doesn't I just want to say thank you for trying." she looked at Josh. "Look after him for me will you, don't let Klaus kill him. He deserves to live."

"So do you," Josh replied.

"I will," Caroline promised.

Davina nodded and uncapped the vial, she shared a long look with Marcel and then pressed the vial to her lips, and tipped it back the liquid slid down her throat and she swallowed the foul-tasting mixture and froze, eyes widening.

"Davina, what's wrong?" Marcel asked alarmed.

"I can feel it," she answered bewildered.

"Feel what?" Josh pressed forward. "What do you feel?"

Davina broke out in a smile. "The magic in the elixir, I can feel it working through me." she gave a small laugh. "This is going to work."

Caroline smiled widely. This was good.

She looked to Marcel, and while he looked hopeful, he didn't seem ready to believe instead Marcel pulled Davina into his arms and held her to his chest, pressing a kiss into her hair, hoping this wouldn't be the last time he heard her laugh.

* * *

Flames erupted on the ground as Caroline walked quickly through the cemetery, the rain pouring down in a heavy torrent, Josh beside her, the fire licked at Marcel's feet as he carried Davina across the graveyard.

Caroline walked straight to Klaus and locked her hand with his. "It's going to work." She told him. "It will."

Klaus squeezed her hand, hoping her belief would not be disappointed. Hoping she was right for her sake and Marcel's.

"Fire," Sophie said as Marcel joined the group that was gathered.

He set Davina down near the other girls who were laid out on the altar.

Sophie placed the blade into the flames and walked toward Davina.

"Do you believe in the harvest?" Sophie asked Davina.

"I believe." Davina stood straighter, ready for this to be over. Ready to have her life back without the threat of the witches looming over her head.

Caroline flinched as Sophie pressed the blade against Davina's skin and slit her throat.

Josh reached for Caroline's free hand with his, looking away as blood streamed down Davina white dress. Marcel was there to catch her as she fell back, laying her down gently.

Blood streamed down Davina's white dress. Marcel laid her down gently next to the other three harvest girls.

The rain came to a slow stop as the Harvest magic left her body.

"After the harvest comes the reaping." Sophie recited. "Their sacrifices made and accepted. We call upon our elders to resurrect the chosen ones." However, nothing happens and Sophie looked uncertain. "We call upon our elders to resurrect the chosen ones…" Still nothing happens, Sophie's tone becoming weak, as she faltered. "Resurrect your chosen ones…" her voice cracked. "Please? I beg…" frustrated tears filled her eyes. "No!" she started sobbing earnestly.

Marcel looked toward Caroline worriedly. "How long does it take to work?"

"I..I don't know," Caroline admitted, she looked to Elijah questioningly. "Do you?"

"It should be any moment now?" Elijah said. "If it's still viable."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sophie demanded, face stricken with grief.

"I gave Davina something to bring her back," Caroline answered.

"You what?" Sophie looked at her in anger. "The spell is what is meant to bring her back along with my niece. You could have screwed up everything!"

Caroline stepped toward her. "I don't care about your plans. And I don't trust you to make sure Davina is okay after this. Your desperate and you have nothing to lose, and that makes you dangerous. I did what I thought was right for Davina."

"Yeah." Sophie took a step toward her. "And how well did that work out for you. Davina is dead, and she may not be coming back." Sophie scowled. "You deserve everything that happened to you." Sophie stared at Caroline, and for once, she was glad she took something from Caroline.

Caroline eyes blacked, anger surging through her when suddenly there was large desperate gasp for breath.

Everyone snapped around, staring as Davina jolted upright hands scrambling at her neck, feeling for the slash across her throat, eyes wide and fearful, panicked.

"Davina!" Marcel crouched next to her, hands on her shoulder. "It's okay, breathe, just breathe."

Caroline moved to her other side and rubbed her hand up and down her back. "Welcome back," she smiled.

Josh crouched beside her next to Caroline. "Oh, my God, you're alive."

"I'm alive." Davina breathed, looking from each of them, daring to hope. "It actually worked. I'm alive."

"It worked." Caroline's lips pulled into a smile. "You're alive."

Davina's hand dropped from her neck, and she lunged forward wrapping her arms around Caroline. "Thank you." She tucked her face in Caroline's shoulder. "Thank you."

Caroline hugged her back, rubbing her hand up and down her spine. "You don't have to thank me."

She looked at Marcel and Josh who were looking at her gratefully, she smiled then looked past them to Klaus who to her surprised looked relieved with the outcome of tonight's events.

Sophie stared in shock, her heart sinking down into her stomach.

All of it was for nothing. Everything she did was in vain.

What was she supposed to do now?

How was she going to fix any of this?

She felt eyes on her, and she looked up to see Hayley watching her with a mild look of worry, and she glared.

If she wasn't going to get her niece back then she sure as hell wasn't going to help Hayley.

The girl was on her own, and if Hayley were smart, she would leave town while she still could because the truth of her pregnancy was bound to come out sooner or later and it would be in her best interest if she were no longer in New Orleans when that happened.

"Sophie, I'm sorry," Hayley said, and Sophie's anger cracked.

She shook her head and let out a cry of pain. "I'm sorry." she sunk to her knees, a sob tearing through her. She failed to bring back her niece, to do the one thing her sister had died for. "I'm so sorry."

Sophie's shoulders shook as she sobbed earnestly in grief.

* * *

"Are you ready to forgive me yet?" Hayley followed Elijah down the street.

Elijah turned to her. "It's not that easy, Hayley."

"Elijah, I was wrong to go through your journals, I was wrong to tell Sophie about Celeste, but after everything that happened today, I don't know why we can't see past this," said Hayley, trying and failing to understand why he was so upset.

"And you of all people should know why. During my fever in the bayou, you were inside my mind. You know what Celeste means to me." Elijah insisted, the betrayal he felt bleeding through.

"Don't you mean meant to you?" Hayley corrected.

"No. Do you have any idea how rare love is?" Elijah asked. "In a thousand years, I have found it but twice, and when I have, I have honored it."

"I know what a promise means to you, Elijah, but you made it 200 years ago. I live in the now. If I feel something, I act. If I want something, I take it." Hayley refused to apologize for fighting for what she wanted, what she deserved. "I won't choose the dead over the living, so why are you?" she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Elijah." she walked away from him, leaving Elijah to stare after her.

Hayley didn't regret the decisions she had made and if Elijah couldn't forgive her then so be it. She has done far worse than helping Sophie get her hands on Celeste's bones.

Her hand went to her stomach as she walked down the street.

No, she had done far worse, and it was leading her down a path that she wanted off of but found it impossible and she doubted she could go to Sophie for her help.

Sophie was half the reason she was in this mess, to begin with.

If she couldn't have her family back, maybe her best bet was to skip town. Preferably before the babies were born, and the truth of their true conception was brought to light.

* * *

"This whole thing was doomed from the start, you know? Yes, we saved the city, and I'm not complaining about the witches losing their power, but this did not go down the way I thought it would." Klaus said, speaking to Rebekah. "You surprised me, though. You were quite resourceful today. How did you find them down at the docks?"

"You're not the only one with clever little spies in the quarter, Nik," Rebekah replied with a dry smirk.

"Sometimes I think I don't give you your due, little sister," Klaus confessed.

"I knew Elijah's plan was mad, but I really thought it would work. At least Caroline found a way to save Davina at least," said Rebekah sadly.

"So did I," said Klaus. "I knew Davina would survive. There's so much life in her."

"What about the power?" Rebekah questioned. "Four were supposed to rise, and only one did. Where did all that power go? It didn't go back in Davina. She would have said something, wouldn't she?"

"I don't know," Klaus answered, and he really didn't.

* * *

Sabine conducted a spell with a small doll.

Three people in various locations rise from the dead and walk until they meet one another.

"Why are we here?" A red-haired witch in her twenties asked.

"Someone brought us forth. Who?" Questioned a dark-skinned man.

"I did." Sabine appeared.

"Sabine!" Bastiana exclaimed. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Bastiana, I've had to endure people calling me "Sabine" for almost a year now. I'd appreciate it if you'd call me by my real name," a smirk spread across her lips. "Celeste."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are encouraged!**


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